Grey clouds hovered overhead as raindrops dropped onto the windshield. Don, his son Dan, and I drove out of Meridian, Idaho and into the town of Eagle.

Don wanted to show Dan a specific property Don’s son Victor owns in the foothills. It had been a long time since Don was last there, so navigation by memory wasn’t working too well. And since there was no specific address, we couldn’t just call it up on GPS. By phone, Victor told us the nearest crossroads, but we had already overshot one of those. We drove in a big square, took a couple of wrong turns, and were uncertain which direction the other road was from our location.  Between Don, Dan and me, a GPS and my Waze, we finally got to the crossroads Victor had mentioned. Recognizing the area, Don turned right and then off the highway and up a dirt road onto a hill where we looked over a newly planted field and the Eagle area valley. The stunning view was worth the wrong turns and difficulty finding this place.

I thought of how often we take wrong turns in life. Maybe it’s a choice to run with people who are a negative influence; perhaps it’s a relationship that promised the moon, but left us in the ditch; it may be getting into drugs, alcohol, or pornography. Perhaps it’s our own selfish “me first” attitude; or allowing life’s challenges to take priority over our focus on God.

The husband of a friend of mine fought cancer valiantly. Now, although cancer-free, he is suffering with an internal infection that requires one surgery after another to clean and disinfect the area so he can  heal. Today is surgery #20. My friend is tired, burned out. But her focus remains on a good Father who loves her, her husband and son. Her posts continue to honor Him, to speak honestly of her weariness while she throws herself on His grace, love, and healing touch. I’m challenged by her trust.

God’s Word says he will “restore the years the locust has eaten” (Joel 2:25).  He calls us back to Him, even when we’ve made wrong decisions or turned away from Him. He welcomes us with open arms, forgiveness and love. And He has given us a reliable GPS–His Word. As we return to our focal point, our God-given GPS, His Spirit resets our path so that we again find our way on His path.

What a gracious God!