Detours

Thursday night is date night. We begin with Mass and then go out for dinner. A few weeks ago as I was leaving my office my date—aka my husband—called and informed me there were accidents on I-95 and I might want to take an alternate route if I could.

As luck would have it I was at the right place when he called so I turned right, cranked up the radio, and thought I’d enjoy the scenic route home. Not really, though. There was construction, and the detour signs suggested I-95. It took me twice as long to get home and I never made it to Mass.

That is one brief story of a day where I was out of step all day long. Everything I tried to do I was either early, late, going the wrong way, ordering from the wrong store, giving people answers that made them angry or unhappy, and it just went on and on.

The next day I reflected on the fact that while my day had been quite annoying, in the end none of it was a big deal. They were little crosses sent to keep me focused on the big picture. For me, my big picture is remembering to trust God and not allow the little things to put me in a bad mood.

The day reminded me that one bad day does not mean I have a bad life: it was a bad day. It reminded me that God is there. Good came from the day in that I was taught a lesson in rolling with the punches and not getting down on myself.

In life there will always be detours. Sometimes they are days are like the saying, “man plans, God laughs,” because he really does know better. In the end, if we keep our focus on him, our life will work out for the best.

Have you had a day recently where it didn’t go as planned? How did you not let it get to you?