Thursday I was travelling from the western edge of Georgia heading to near the eastern edge. I’ll date myself and say, as the old Ten Years After song said, “Goin’ Home…to see my Baby.” I was driving on the winding, hilly two-lane backroads coming from Pine Mountain and nearing the four-lane with the 65 MPH speed limit – ready to hit the cruise control and leave the school buses and small towns behind.

            The road split at one point and as I took the correct direction, I noticed two barricades with a “Road Closed” sign attached. They were pulled off on the shoulder and weren’t blocking the road so I didn’t think much about it. I continued another 6 or 7 miles and was very near the four-lane when I saw another set of barricades. This time, though, they did block the roadway and the road closed sign clearly meant what it said.

            I stopped and looked around for alternatives. If I went around them and continued, it’s possible I could find a way to get past whatever (if anything) was up ahead. But I could also find I had uselessly gone another few miles to only have to turn around. So, I decided to backtrack to where the road split and take the other fork. I didn’t pull out a map or the GPS – I knew I was heading west and at some point would come to a north-south highway that could take me to the four-lane.

            The “other” fork, which I had deemed incorrect, had now become correct. The detour added another 20 miles of winding, hilly backroad but thankfully it was past time for school buses and the only small town I had to pass through was where I hit the four-lane. I set the cruise control at 65 and headed home.

            The backtracking and detour weren’t really much of a problem – they delayed my homecoming by only 15 or 20 minutes. And I did get to take a road I had never driven before, had a safe side trip and saw one of the prettiest red barns I’ve ever seen.

            The Lord often takes us on what seem to be detours in life. Sometimes we even have to backtrack and make something right before we can head off in the new direction He has for us. We need to follow the path and enjoy the trip, for we know Who will be with us on the journey.

“For He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”  Hebrews 13:5