Random Thoughts / Inspiration

I have a thousand fantastic ideas/thoughts running through my mind today. I really want to write and for lack of any direction, I'm just going to start blurting stuff out. Maybe it will take on some form.

Ugh. Did you know...Ugh...if rearranged just a little tiny bit...is a hug? I discovered this past weekend that in the Ugh's of life...I'll step out of it, and into the HUG that is so much more comfortable. :) It's simple. But wow that a simple shift in perspective can create such a dramatic change/feeling/outlook. So...bring on the UGHS! Lots more HUGS! :)

As I was leaving the beach retreat, I turned right instead of left. I had a destination in mind, but it ended up that the map in my mind was a little out of focus. I was thinking south, and I went north. I've learned to embrace the detours of life, whether intentional or not. Once it occurred to me that I was going the opposite direction (I don't say 'wrong' direction because wrong would mean there there is an absolute 'right' way for everything. Is there?) than intended, a choice crossed my mind...I could turn around and go back, or I can accept the detour and embrace what lies ahead. I'm going to get home regardless of the direction I'm pointed. I thought...how much more scenic our life would be if we consiously decided to take a different route every time. How full the tapestry of our lives would be if we were able to look at and take in the multitude of landscapes that are rich and ripe for our pickins if we choose. So many times I choose to take the road most travelled because it seems 'easier'. It requires no brainwork because I already know what to expect. Some days there is some comfort in routine, when exhaustion overtakes me, then I just hit 'auto pilot' and allow the routines of life to take me wherever they will. The reality is that they don't take me anywhere. They ground me to one place and complacency becomes the theme of the day. The tapestry is flat and lifeless. It is one color...that fades from the sun shining on it in the same place in the same way, every single day. I think this life is worth LIVING! What amazing wonders God has created for us to explore. And the unanticipated surprises that lie ahead, when we're not looking. Aren't gifts great? Aren't they the greatest when you're not anticipating them?

Detour...a deviation from a direct course of action. I think that detour is a concept created by the need for control. A detour means going around the intended way. What if...there is no 'intended way' that is the same for everyone? This way may work for you, but it doesn't work for me. Does it mean I'm wrong? Notsomuch.

When living with an eternal perspective, it occurs to me that whatever expectation I have in my mind is all about control. Whatever 'control' I think I have, is an illusion. I have no control. I may have the ability to pick a path, but He guides my steps. Every time, without fail, that *I* decide I'd like to see something happen a certain way, it invariably goes astray. Hm. Perhaps what I desire of this life are not the best for me. Perhaps if I listen to the voice of my Father, He will guide me down a path that is less painful and more fruitful and beautiful than anything I could ever imagine. My steering wheel is broke. 'Jesus take the wheel'. Take me down the road less travelled so that I might experience more fully the wonder of it all.

I gently guide my daughter away from things that may be harmful to her. She doesn't know or understand why they are harmful to her, but its up to me to watch out for these things for her. So should I, listen to the gentle guidance of my Father, who knows and understands the things that are harmful to me. I am but a child who doesn't know everything. :)