A Wrong Turn Isn't A Dead End

Sally, (not her real name) was wailing uncontrollably on the line to me. Without going into the lurid details, she was convinced her life was essentially a waste. That she was a fool, and the world and it's cat, now in possession of some of the salient tit-bits thought so too. Not only that, she was now officially past-it; too old for new beginnings, re-inventions, re-locations or the cool pair of Acne jeans she had spotted online. As I listened silently and compassionately to her plight I was struck by the root cause of her melancholy. It wasn't only the events themselves, but also what she felt they indicated, her life was officially one that had been defined by a calamity and would remain calamity-chocka, always.

We live in a fear and shame driven culture. It is very easy for one's inner voice to tune into the radio station, I like to call it Team Red FM, that will have you either frozen into inactivity when faced with a negative situation or deciding worse is to follow and we innately deserve it. And when we do make a bad call, as all of us will at some point or another; trust the wrong person, spend too long in the wrong job, study the wrong course or even  post the wrong picture, it is all too easy to be governed by the negative repercussions and become scared of making new decisions or entertaining the thought that better can still follow. 'This is clearly my lot' we say to ourselves ,After all, look around at everyone else, living their if not perfect lives, ones that are certainly without the monster sized errors of my own, which now have me languishing in the pit. But that's the dirty trick with Team Red FM, the same crappy song with lyrics such as 'failure' futile' and 'foolish' making up both the chorus and refrain and keeping people believing they've reached the proverbial end of the road.

I directed Sally to one of my favourite verses for the self-loathing, wrong turn heavy season, and one that I have returned to often  during my own difficult patches:

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

Paul is very explicitly reminding all of us, whether you are full-on believer, fledgling faith warrior, or sometimes in and sometimes out member, that every thing in our lives is used by God for our ultimate benefit. Sometimes, it will not be obvious how this will be the case, but it will always be so, and this is made clearer  in the second part of the verse 'who have been called according to his purpose'. The wrong turns, mistakes and,mishaps are actually part of our calling, and are used for divine purposes. Divine purposes being just that, not fully understood by our mortal minds and oftentimes seemingly nebulous, might feel unbearably painful in the immediate moment, but eventually when all is fully revealed they will be more than worth it.

Furthermore, it is when you make the wrong turn, find yourself lost in the wilderness of poor choices, that one can and indeed should lean on God more for strength, direction and comfort. More often than not, these are lonely times as people by and large are not necessarily the best at rallying round for long during that wrong turn season. But God is. If one reminds oneself, that not only leaning on him but also trusting him for a solution is the way forward then clouds really do begin to lift. Finally, here's the golden thread to cling onto for all it's worth, this is not the end but actually the beginning of an even better season. Suddenly, the wrong turn doesn't feel so wrong after all.