A couple weeks ago, I reviewed the first half of this book. Throughout the time I’ve been reading this book, I’ve been live-blogging it on my facebook feed.
And, for four and 1/2 years, I’ve been whipping through the tumultuous turns of a detour of my own. I know the pain, the desperation, and the despair.
Aaron does an excellent job of describing the situation, and he begins to show you how to survive a detour.
In short, he tells us to:
- Get perspective through the stories of scripture
- Read the stories of scripture in light of an overall view of scripture (don’t have bad theology)
- Get to know God.
My favorite part of the second half of the book was the final few pages – you will have scars from your detour – you need to choose to look at what God was doing instead of the pain you went through in order to face forward with love and grace instead of bitterness and resentment. Somehow, just knowing that someone knows that it would be easy to live angry, feels like permission to let it go.
If you are on a detour, I am so sorry. However, I can promise you that God is up to something marvelous. Your life won’t end where you thought it would. You will know more, you will be different, and in truth, you may have more impact that you would have on the ordinary track you chose. I don’t think that detours are just about changing our direction – I think Aaron is right, they allow us to know God more.
Here is a quote to consider:
“The guilt and regret that accompany a detour are often worse than the detour itself. You continue to replay in your mind the events that lead to your entrance on this unwelcome path. Over and over again you second-guess yourself, and as your detour continues, you reconsider actions that you have made since the detour started that you think might have put an end to your misery…what is so easy to forget is that without those unexpected turns you might never have seen God’s grace at such depths.”
Prior to this horribly long detour we have been on, I felt that there were some things in my life that prevented me from leading well. I told God that I would be a better, more perfect leader if I didn’t have debt, if people in my life were more stable, and best of all – if I could find stability of not having hormones that go up and down. LOL.
If I have learned nothing else on this journey (and I have), I have learned that me being a leader isn’t about me. That I have what I need every day, and that since God has called me, I am enough. I won’t be better with less baggage, but I might rely on Him less.
God wants us to know that our strength comes from Him, not from our circumstances. Ken and Barbie are perfect dolls that impact the world…of make believe. You and I are the real thing – people with bumps and lumps, warts and all – who God wants to work through to impact the world. It really is all about Him.
If you are on a detour and need someone to walk with you, you can always call me – but you might also want to pick up this book. You can buy it on Amazon (it is in preorder now, it comes out I think the first part of April).
No Responses