When Life Takes a Turn

I’ve always had a fascination with Route 66. It starts in Chicago and goes all the way to California. The fun thing about it is that it was built before the highway system, when Americans enjoyed the journey aspect of a family road trip as much as the destination. The roads are slower and there are quirky road stops all along the way, from teepee shaped hotels to a ranch of Cadillacs half buried in the ground.

In life, we tend to look for our destinations. What will I be when I grow up? What’s God’s calling for my life? What is my perfect job?

But what if the destination isn’t the important thing?

In high school, I thought I wanted to be a professional clarinet player. I excelled at it and spent hours and hours practicing, going to orchestra rehearsals and my senior year, going in to New York City every Saturday to attend a special pre-college program at the Juilliard School.

I went to college and majored in clarinet performance. But during my time there, my priorities shifted and my dream to be a professional musician shifted. I still loved playing, but I wasn’t sure being a professional musician was the lifestyle I wanted.

During college, I spent a summer in the Middle East, sharing my faith with college students there. I loved it! I thought for sure THAT was my destination for the future - an overseas missionary.

I went back to that country for a year after college. I enjoyed it, but felt very drained by the end. It just wasn’t a good long term fit for my personality. So I came home and joined the missions organization that I had been overseas with. They created a new position where I could be part of their music ministry, performing concerts and telling others about Jesus, while also having a ministry reaching out to music majors at a nearby college. It seemed perfect.

I worked on raising financial support for almost a year and then hit a dead end. In the process, I met my husband. He and I got married and I left full time staff, but ended up volunteering with the same organization in the city we moved to.

Now I homeschool our kids, teach private music lessons and write. I serve at my church, help lead our homeschool co op and still volunteer with that college ministry. Did God waste all of those things that I did before? No! I learned so much and grew in my relationship with God. He’s still using those experiences and I trust He will continue to do so. Why? Because the journey is about becoming more like Jesus.

What does that look like, becoming more like Jesus? What’s the road map to get there?

We tend to like GPS coordinates and phone apps that plot the most direct route, avoid traffic and road construction, and feature rest stops with Starbucks. Yet the journey to becoming more like Jesus is seldom a direct, straight path.

God uses the circumstances in our life to make us more like Him. At least, that’s the plan. It’s up to us to cooperate.

Sometimes the unexpected twists and turns are just stops on the way to give us the experiences we need for some future venture He has planned for us. I see that a lot in my convoluted journey to where my life is today.

Other times, our life circumstances are meant to get our attention and help us to grow in our faith.

Whether you’re a veteran homeschooler by choice or have been suddenly thrust into teaching your kids at home because of COVID-19, you know that you can present your student with the most well thought through lesson, but it’s their choice to receive it. If they don’t cooperate, there’s no learning that takes place. That’s not your fault - it’s their’s.

Our spiritual lives are the same way. God will put us in situations to teach us more about Him and to help us become more like Him, but it’s up to us to cooperate.

Has life taken a wacky turn as of late? Illness, job loss, relational stress, an unexpected move?

Or a global pandemic where we all have to stay home for a month (hopefully just a month?). Yeah, there’s that.

It’s easy to get frustrated and confused, but what if God is trying to get our attention? What if it’s an opportunity for us to become more like Jesus and get to know Him better?

One of the amazing things about God is that He is the perfect guide on our journey. What may look like chaos in our lives is actually a perfectly planned trail for our becoming more like Jesus. He is the perfect orchestra conductor, the perfect curriculum creator, the ultimate back woods guide to get us where we need to be. It may look crazy and nonsensical, but it is actually perfectly planned by our Heavenly Father who loves us passionately and knows that what is best for us is our becoming more like Him.

So if you’re struggling today with what your path looks like, take a deep breath and ask God to show you what your next step is on the journey to becoming more like Jesus.