Twists, Turns, and Dead Ends

What does a long weekend with beautiful weather mean? A lot of riding time thankfully! The Labor Day weekend provided some great riding weather and therefore some good quiet time to think, reflect, and just chill out while enjoying the scenery.

On one of my rides there was a change in plans. What started out with plans for a long ride got changed shortly after it got started. I came to a stop light and heard my phone going off. I got to a location where I could safely pull off the road to check it and long story short, my mom needed help. I sent my hubby a text and asked him to join me to help her.  When I arrived,  mom said she hated to bother me and mess up my ride. I told her that’s what family is for, I can ride later.  I’m just thankful I heard the phone ring because I wasn’t wearing my earbud.  Hubby also arrived and we helped her and as we were talking and I was going to get ready to ride again,  my uncle called and he needed help as well. My wonderful hubby stayed with mom and I went on to help my uncle. While taking him where he needed to go, he apologized for interrupting my Sunday ride time on such a pretty day. I told him the same thing,  that’s what family is for.

Yes both situations interrupted riding, but I’m thankful for those interruptions. It means they are both still here alive and well enough to ask for assistance if they need it. I’ve learned to never take family for granted, you never know when something can happen to change it.

The fact I made a bad choice 31 years ago,  forced me to learn how to handle situations I may not have learned otherwise.  Making a good decision 11 years ago, taught me I also now have someone I can depend on for help and to help keep me balanced.  Both of those decisions play a factor in how I was able to properly respond and assist Sunday. God allows us to make the choices we make,  and He can use those choices to help us see things differently.  I am thankful for that as well. He could stop us from making bad choices,  but then we wouldn’t learn from them.

I have felt like I was “bothering ” and “interrupting” God from time to time when I’ve called on Him, just like my mom and uncle felt like they were bothering me. I know without a shadow of a doubt, God is there day or night when I call out to him without making me feel bad. I may sometimes come across as being “rough” in some situations, but God is not. I wish my reactions never came across that way, but I’m human and I’m sure they do. For anyone I’m close to that’s reading this,  I sincerely apologize if that has ever been the case with my reaction to you.

I never have a set plan as to where I’m riding when I leave home, just that I’m planning to ride. It’s the only time that I am totally spontaneous. I think this spontaneity has helped me adjust to sudden changes in plans personally and at work.  Things that used to require alot of time for me to “process “, no longer do. I can adjust to change much easier now.  A ride I took on Monday was such a ride.  I took a ride on a road I recently went on for the first time and this time when I got to the end, I decided to try a road my hubby told me about.  I turned where I thought he’d told me to turn,  only to later see a sign that said, “Road ends 500 feet “. Well that’s definitely a game changer! I turned around at the end and headed back where I came from. I saw another road that I thought might be the one I should have taken so I turned on it.

This was an awesome road and was where my hubby had told me about. There wasn’t a lot of traffic but I did have a few vehicles come up behind me. They didn’t seem to be in a hurry so I just kept going along enjoying the scenery without worrying I was holding them up in any way. I believe this road had the most twists and turns of any road I’ve ever been on while riding the bike. If I’d been on the Sportster I used to ride,  it would not have been enjoyable, but with my current bike it was incredible.

I could have let the wrong turn ruin my ride,  but instead I just took another route. Life is like that; we can let bad choices and “dead ends” defeat us, or we can decide to try another road.  I would have missed out on so much if I’d just come home because that one particular road ended.

I am thankful for 2nd chances,  and in some case 3rd and 4th and more chances. I am thankful for interruptions and changes in plans.

I imagine God is thankful when we reach out to him for help,  just like we are when others reach out to us for help. He is eagerly waiting to help us through the wrong turns and bad decisions we make. He is willing to help us get turned around, if we only ask. Sometimes what seem like interruptions or changes in plan to us, ( twists,  turns,  and dead ends) may be God’s way of keeping us from something harmful to us.

One of my favorite verses tell us just that and has gotten me through many circumstances I’ve found myself in:

Proverbs 3:5-6