My daddy celebrated 95 years in May, but it was not the party we had planned. Two and a half weeks before his milestone birthday, he fell and broke his hip. Surgery and a hospital stay followed by rehab has resulted in a detour for him that we never saw coming. It has been a hard stretch in his journey especially now that we see the detour becoming a more permanent and different path.
I’m asking the question today-
What do you do when the detour becomes the road?
It’s not what you planned. It’s harder and out of the way. You didn’t see it coming, but here you are all the same. There doesn’t seem to be a way to redirect or get back to where you were. You’re tired and about out of gas.
I’m in this spot with my dad at the moment. The fall has left him more bound to a wheelchair and in need of long-term care. Many days I feel disoriented and confused. The road is unfamiliar and hard to follow, but I don’t want this hardship to be in vain. I want God to use it- to teach me and grow me up in Him.
And God is faithful- He is teaching me some deep and abiding truths. I asked my dad recently to say the blessing, and he thanked God for being good to him everyday of his life. I haven’t forgotten it- everyday of his life. Really? That includes today.
This is the lesson for me- THE GOODNESS OF GOD IS NOT FOUND IN CIRCUMSTANCES. GOD IS GOOD EVEN WHEN LIFE IS NOT; THEREFORE, I CAN CELEBRATE AND HAVE JOY EVERY DAY!
I needed a little help with this, so I relocated some scriptures that I memorized and prayed over several years back from Margaret Feinberg’s study, Fight Back with Joy. I’ve pulled them out again, and I shared Psalm 16:11 in the last post.
I’m finding Nehemiah 8:10 another powerful word to me-
What a powerful truth!
Even this day is holy to the LORD. God has made it, and He is good. I am challenging myself with two application points- I’m asking God to open my eyes to see at least one good thing to enjoy each day? Instead of dwelling on the stress, I’m reminding myself of the goodness of God. My prayer is that this will produce joy-filled strength to stay the course since the detour has become the road.
Daily PICs for Life 