Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Day 118 The Roundabout Way


Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. Luke 15:6

I like to imagine a laughing, smiling Jesus when he found THIS lost sheep. And boy was I lost. For many years I'd been making wrong turns in the roundabout of life and had found myself driving in circles doing the same old thing expecting different results. I was definitely lost on the road of life.

Recently our city added a few new roundabout intersections to help ease traffic. They allow the driver to continue through a major thoroughfare without stopping. As you yield to the right-of-way, you can make a right turn, curve around the central island and head straight or continue around the island to go left. A roundabout even allows you to make a complete u-turn and head back the way you came.

Here is an illustration of a roundabout in case you have not seen one.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/UK_Roundabout_8_Cars.gif (This is a roundabout in the UK so the cars drive on opposite sides of the road but you get my drift, right?)

This roundabout theme is very similar to the way my young adult life played out.

I often found myself going around in circles not sure which way to go. Different people in my life pointed in one direction or the other. Not sure which way to turn I usually went the wrong way and got lost. There was always that voice of reason calling me home but I was ignoring it.

Then one day a caring friend (Thanks Diane) took my hand and placed it back in the hand of Jesus. I had let go of God's hand for a number of years until I made a u-turn and headed back. Through fellowship at a Bible teaching church and study of God's Word on my own, I found the roadmap for living.

I came home to the realization that Jesus loved me with an everlasting love and He wanted me home. Even after I'd made some seriously wrong turns, His gift of grace welcomed me back. I returned to the faith in Jesus that my mom and dad introduced to me as a child. And I was welcomed home with open arms that hung on a cross for my sinful choices and those same hands then wiped away my tears.

The few scars that I received when I veered off the road are reminders to not go back. That was a very hard time in my life and I don't care to ever make that detour again.

God healed the wounds but left the scars as a reminder of who He is and how much better it is when I live in His truth.

I pray today that wherever you are in your life, that you'll listen to the voice of reason calling you home.

God Bless Your Heart,

Gigi

http://www.gigimurfitt.com/

The idea for this blog came from the April 28 devotion in the God Calling book edited by AJ Russell.

PS. I'm catching up on getting my posts typed into my blog. I still love to write them with pen in hand and type them later. There is just something unique in the flow of my thoughts to my pen. So I hope you'll bear with me as I take my time getting the days I'm missing entered onto my blog. Thanks for the reminder – Jeanne Murphy – that there really are people who look for my blog every day! It was so good to see you and Jim and Ryan at Challenger Baseball this morning. You are an amazing and inspirational family.

No comments: