Detour Ahead

**Photo courtesy of www.google.ca**

You're going along, life is good, when suddenly - a speed bump, blind curve, or detour happens. Sometimes, a major life detour like a change in your desired career, an unexpected health issue or being burglarized.

While out for a couple hours running errands, someone I care about was robbed. Their home was breached and they were left feeling violated.

Everything they had come to know and feel secure about, had been changed. They had a pit in their stomach and as I watched them go through the realization of what had taken place, I felt violated too.

While the thieves didn't take a lot in terms of possessions, something much more valuable was stolen - the reassurance of security. We began to wonder how the theft could have happened without anyone noticing.

Maybe they were 'casing' the place days or, even, weeks in advance. Perhaps, it was someone who knew the house and occupant and wanted what was inside. These are things we may never have answers for.

Yet we're thankful that it was only things that they took and no one was harmed. That there are things that will happen in life we'll be unable to fathom or understand but if our lives and relationships remain intact, the material things don't matter.

Even though this horrible incident happened, it made me think about how fleeting life can be. When my life takes a detour, I am so grateful for my relationship with God and His Word to guide, teach, and comfort me.

While I began to think how unsettling it would have been if my home had been broken into, I was quickly reminded of a verse in the Bible that appears in a book called Matthew.

Matthew was one of Jesus' (God's Son) disciples who followed Him, closely, through His short ministry of three years. In this particular verse, Matthew is writing the words spoken by Jesus, who said, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal" (Chapter 6, verse 19). Wow.

Jesus could not have been more wise to say what He did. Not only did it put the robbery into perspective but it was also an appropriate reminder for me about how it shouldn't be about the material things we possess while we are living out our time here on Earth.

That it's more critical for us to be concerned about the relationships in our lives. To ensure that we're okay when the bumps in the road happen and to focus on others instead of the tangible 'treasures' taking up room on a bookshelf.

Encouragement for the week:

The stuff we have will wear out, fall apart, and break. Almost everything we own can be replaced while a valued relationship, cannot.

If you have hit a detour in your life, take a pit stop in the valuable relationships of your life and be comforted.

If you are a Christian, you know the keys to success do not lie in what you own. Let your life be all about relationship, both with God and each other.

If you are not a Christian, you can look for Jesus and you will find Him. He longs to be in a relationship with you so that He can help you navigate the blind curves of life.