I recently saw a flock of geese in full-on V formation flying overhead. There were about twenty of them. But, instead of continuing their current path, they managed to do a complete 180 and head in the direction they had just come from; they made a U-turn. I started thinking about the leader. Did he make a mistake in which direction he was taking them? As the rest of the clan followed the leader, how would they know they were on the right path?
This reminded me of my dad. When we went on car rides as a family, we quickly realized that he panicked easily if he thought he missed his turn. The first time we saw this in action, we were headed to the farm after supper, and Mom made a plate for our neighbor, Mr. Hall, something she often did. She told Dad to stop on our way so she could drop off the plate of food. His house was just around the curve from ours, but Dad had already forgotten. So, just as we began to pass up the driveway, Mom yelled that he missed his turn. Dad slammed on the brakes, and we were rear-ended. This is the first time I recall hearing the term whiplash after my sister Donna’s neck began to hurt.
My siblings and I were sitting in the backseat of our turquoise 1966 Chevy Impala, and with Mom in the front seat, we didn’t get the benefits of her instinctive arm that naturally came across the waists of anyone sitting in the front seat when she was driving. Mr. Hall’s supper ended up all over the inside of the car and us.
After that, Mom learned not to yell when Dad missed turns. The next time we were riding along, and he passed up our turn-off, I remember her calmly turning to him in a monotone voice, saying something like – I think we were supposed to turn there. Panic still ensued, but at least he didn’t slam on the brakes; instead, he began nervously looking for a place to make a U-turn.
As I meandered around the neighborhood, continuing my run that morning, I saw a neighbor walking their dog. When the dog saw me, it wanted to run with me, but the owner, not so much. She guided the dog back to their path with a slight leash tug.
We all go down the wrong path occasionally and make poor decisions, sometimes running off on a whim without consulting God about which direction to take. We may even panic when we realize we are on the wrong path and have made a mess of our lives and caused damage to ourselves and others.
God’s grace not only gives us the space to make a U-turn but helps us clean up the mess and offers complete restoration to heal any damage that occurred while on our hiatus from the path God intended. Thankfully, God is patient with us. We, too, need to be tethered to Christ and let the Holy Spirit guide our hearts instead of allowing our hearts to lead us. The ultimate healing is only found in a relationship with Christ. It is not too late to make a U-turn.
“The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9, ESV, emphasis added)
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