Hindsight is 20/20

I’m not one who spends much time looking back. I’m not exactly sure why. I guess there is always so much ahead of me to get my mind around that I’m focused on the future. However, there is much to be learned from hindsight.Recently, my husband and I had the opportunity to go back to Dayton, OH. Aside from a quick trip shortly after we moved back, this was the first true visit since we moved from Ohio to Memphis in October 2001 to plant Highpoint Church. Our trip this summer was because Chris was teaching at a conference; I was just along for the ride. What a ride it was! As we drove past the apartment we had originally moved into that cold, snowy day in January, and then saw the house we had built, it was four days of journeying down memory lane. We were able to reconnect with precious families that had taken us under their wings; this young couple with a thick southern accent, a dog, a toddler, and another on the way rolled into their city. Little did we know that one day we would look back with hindsight and see this short 22 month season as one of the most pivotal windows in our lives.When we moved from Memphis, Ohio seemed like a detour to our plans. We had not sought out an opportunity to go, but God had clearly wanted to move us out of our comfort zone and we wanted to obey. In those 22 months, we learned more about ministry and about being loved by the body of Christ than we ever could have imagined.As I pondered the entire experience driving through Dayton, it made me think back to another brief window in my life. My college journey started at Wake Forest University. When I arrived on move-in day in my freshman year, I never would have believed that just nine months later I would be packing up to complete my education elsewhere. I had every intention of graduating a Demon Deacon! Yet those nine months will forever be etched in my mind because it’s where God had to move me in order for me to realize that I had been relying on everything but God in my life. It was on this short journey that God showed me that I had only known about Him, but never surrendered my life to Him.Maybe your journey feels like it has been hijacked. Perhaps you're wondering why you're not where you always imagined you would be. May I encourage you? Trust in your mighty God. God is not confused; nor does He mean you harm.Two of the shortest seasons of my life have ended up being spiritual markers along my journey. Both prepared me for what was ahead in a way that I desperately needed. Don’t get me wrong – it wasn’t all good. It wasn’t always pretty. As we reconnected with one man in Dayton, he recounted seeing me sobbing in the corner one Sunday before we left. Your detour probably won’t be all roses, either; but just because you feel like you’re off your intended path, don’t doubt for one minute that God is preparing you. The best is yet to come!