The Unexpected Detours
Trying to entertain your child(ren) over Spring Break can be challenging. Trying to entertain your PK (Preacher’s Kid) on Spring Break during Holy Week adds an extra level of finesse. On Tuesday we planned to go to Lynchburg to have lunch and play putt-putt before I dropped him off at Beba & Papa’s (my parents) house for a sleepover. This was exciting for a couple of reasons. First, I do not think he had spent the night with my folks on his own since before covid. Second, the kid loves putt-putt. You may not know this about me, but I do like to have a plan if possible. So, I kind of had an idea of the timing of the day and how things would unfold. It was a gorgeous day! I love the drive on 501 to 122 along the James River. So many Redbuds blooming, it was just beautiful. So, we stopped at an overlook for a few minutes and went on our way. Kemper wanted to stop by the river again, even though we were already hungry for lunch and so we pulled off once we got to the bottom of the mountain. Turns out we had stopped at the James River Foot Bridge. We were not aware that we could walk across this bridge spanning the river and discover walking trails on the other side. We spent almost an hour exploring the area on the other side of the river. We had a great time! It meant that we got to my parent’s house a bit later than anticipated and it put me later getting home, but I wouldn’t trade that little detour for the world.
You know, the scriptures have a lot to say about unexpected journeys and detours. The disciples certainly took one when they dropped their nets by the sea of Galilee and started wandering around with an itinerant prophet—surprise, the Messiah! Paul had every intention of persecuting the earliest Christians when he was stopped on the road to Damascus. The two disciples on the road to Emmaus encountered the risen Lord and ended up retracing their steps back to Jerusalem to share this news. An angel of the Lord sent Philip traveling south from Jerusalem to Gaza and met an Ethiopian Eunuch and baptized him. I guess what I’m saying is, our best laid plans being disrupted might just be God nudging us to pay attention and see him at work. What detours might you welcome into your life this week?