I was reading an article while waiting for Mason to go to sleep tonight about what this author learned by being a mom. There was one that struck me "trust the detours". In her lesson her son had been diagnosed with Diabetes and they had all learned how unhealthy they were eating, and some other family illnesses. It got me to thinking about how many detours we've followed that had turned into blessings.
I think too often we (meaning my family) have decided a plan and set out on that plan. Seldom asking God first what his thought was. Steve and I had our life planned out. We had two children and we thought that was enough. So much so that we made that plan permanent. We had plans for the future and those were the plans we were going by. Had we continued on our planned life we would have missed out on some INCREDIBLE joy!
Thankfully God threw in a detour. We didn't notice this detour quickly, it took years. I'd love to find you the post where I talked about how it took me two years of asking my hubby weekly "so have you thought any more about adoption", but I'm too tired to search. So the short version is I asked for two years and one night right before bed I asked and he said "actually I have. I saw a mom walking into the pool with a baby and it hit me that I could do that again....I actually want to do that again." That's all it took, God worked miracles on his heart. And listening to this detour brought us on a great adventure. God showed us we were going in the right direction many times.
One of our first confirmations: I received an unexpected and very generous bonus at work. This bonus was the EXACT amount needed to start our adoption paperwork. Things flowed, people came out of the woodwork to help us and cheer us on. And God worked with my impatience. Within 8 months of starting our adoption journey, Mason was in our arms, home, and hearts!
We continue to have detours that are blessings. Take my most recent
wining post about sleep. I have been praying for peace, to find a time to think, pray, write in my journal, write a grocery list, etc. My prayer has been answered in the most peculiar way. Mason needs us right now to sit by his crib while he falls asleep, and when napping usually the whole half hour he sleeps we need to stay in case he wakes just for a brief second to make sure we are there before settling again and falling back asleep. Guess what I now have time for :o) Not what I expected (nor really wanted) but His detour is an answered prayer.
These are just two quick examples of detours but I'm sure if I sat long enough to think about it I could come up with a dozen more...maybe that's what I'll do during Mason's morning nap tomorrow. :o)
For now I will continue to praise God for all he has given us, the detours, windy roads, and all!
