I had a plan. It was well thought out. I thought through every single detail and processed every possible obstacle I could imagine. I was going to work so hard at it and it was going to be AWESOME! I would be loved and adored by all I met because my plan was so perfect. As I neared the stage to accept my Nobel Prize, I woke up.
How many times have you imagined this same scenario only to find you are way down some rabbit hole with detour signs and caution tape all around? For me, the first thing I think is “what did I do wrong?” But what if that’s the wrong question? What if, the first thing I should be thinking is “what an interesting place to land in. I wonder what adventures are waiting for me to discover?”
I have been blessed to have a few mentors in my life that have helped me focus and look at things differently. They encourage me to stretch and try new things. It may sound funny, but two of my greatest mentors are my sons. They have both grown into amazing young men with great wit and ability to see things that I don’t. They have both challenged me to look at things differently; to not be afraid to try something new; to not worry about what others may think or say and to simply follow my heart.
I really did have a plan for my life. I had a path all carved out for where I was going and where I would end up. But on the way to completing my plan, I discovered what felt like constant detours, blocking the path I had planned on taking. But here’s the thing: the detours have provided the most inspiring and beautiful moments in my life!
When Hub and I take road trips, one of our favorite things to do is get off the beaten path and main highway. We’ll follow the signs to the world’s largest crater or deepest hand dug well. Or when the main road is closed, it’s fun to follow the smaller, windier roads just to see where they lead. I remember one trip in particular we were driving to visit a young man that had been like one of our own. He was best friends with my boys and was away at a college in Virginia. We were driving through that part of the United States and wanted to see how he was doing.
The road we had planned on taking had detour signs that kept pointing us down this road and that lane until finally I assumed we were hopelessly lost. But we kept driving and found ourselves in the most beautiful parts of the Blue Ridge Mountains! It was breathtaking! And we never would have experienced that beauty without the detour.
Its in the detours and the unplanned moments of life that real living happens. Sometimes we can get so bogged down with our plan we never take a moment and look up. We miss the little signs that something amazing is just around the corner. We lose out on opportunities to simply experience life and the world that God created!
The beginning of something starts with starting. And when the detours pop up, that’s exactly the moment to pause and open our eyes to a new direction or new opportunity or new beauty that we would have missed if we kept forging ahead with the plan, no matter what. I’m looking for detours! Because what I plan may not be even close to what will happen if I follow my heart and follow the detour signs!
Establishing goals is all right if you don’t let them deprive you of interesting detours.
– Doug Larson
