A fork in the Road

The road ahead forked forcing me to make quick decision to go either left or right. Speeding along the highway, I was lost in my thoughts and had not anticipated the dilemma. I faintly recalled either turn would take me to my destination,
and  I would have preferred to turn left (and continue using the highway), but because the left signage did not indicate my onward destination, I took the safer option instead and turned to my right. Almost immediately I regretted my decision as a long line of stationary cars greeted me.

It was too late. I was stuck in a massive backload  of traffic and couldn't get out. (you know that feeling)

I remonstrated at my ‘wise’ choice and rued my situation which soon gave way to a ‘revision’ of all the times I have made wrong choices/ costly mistakes in life. Soon the car became a rather dark place. And I became ‘stuck’ in more ways than one and we weren’t going anywhere, my car nor me. 

I don't really know how to explain it but there are times I can 'sense' a connection to the heavenly realm and in my spirit this was a moment, a teaching point and the Spirit of God was invading my pity party. 

H.Sp: Look, life is not just a sum of all the good decisions you make ..

Me: oh yeah??!  But it is so much easier when we get the decisions right no??

H.Sp.: whether you have made a ‘good’ decision or a ‘bad’ is NOT the point, . The point is I AM there with you in either situation. I am with you.

Me: yes you are but STILL it makes for a more comfortable ride when we get the decisions right!..

H.Sp: actually that is just your frame of reference; you need to move away from your ‘perception’ of of what ‘feels’ right or what ‘works' in your favor.

That  becomes the source of your angst when things don't work out the way you want. 

Pause.

And it echoed. “Your frame of reference, your perception of what works or what feels right”.

THAT becomes the controller of how you feel about yourself, or your situation.

Silence.

Me: well, that’s easier said than done, that’s all we have. Our reference(s) are important for us to make decisions. How else do we move along in life unless we use our point of references as basis to make good decisions, and in doing so expect a favorable outcome.

H.Sp: yes it is your reference and you use it  to make 'good' decisions but when you don’t get it right you don’t need to let the OUTCOME  dictate  how you are feeling.

I AM how you feel, NOT the outcome of your decisions.

Me: thinking .. 

The traffic was starting to move, albeit slowly, and a after a while,  I broke free of the traffic and was well on my way.

As I sped along happily and  I do realize a lot of our emotions are tied to how we perceive things, and our perception is limited, or marginal at best. (or sometimes just plain wrong too)

Our perception of what  outcomes are deemed  good (favorable) vs not good (unfavorable) invariably clouds the truth our God is with us, and sees us through every situation. /Because our emotions follow our perceptions, we can get discourage when we don't have the result we want. 

AS I pondered my little interlude it is true, our God is also the Lord of our emotions and we should not allow anything else ( ie. our perception)  to master our emotions (that ultimately determines how we feel)  or to allow our bad emotions to frame our outlook in life.

God alone (not our emotions, not our circumstances, nor our mishaps along the way),determines our outlook, It is his NATURE TO BLESS and He;s got our back.

Whether a wrong turn or a right turn .. as long as we know HE is in the journey with us, we needn't stress unnecessarily**

**the key to a restful heart ( I have been reminded again and again!) is to be CONSTANTLY conscious of the Grace of God flowing toward us ALL the time ( because we are his beloved).
His Grace towards us is more than sufficient: He puts everything into its proper perspective.

Have a great week ahead folks!