It’s 4am and I am driving to the ocean to take photos of a morning sunrise at Merritt Island National Park. The GPS in this borrowed truck talks to the driver on the way to my final destination. What it failed to take into account are detours. Arriving in Titusville at 5:30am, the directions tell me to continue straight when in reality I was carefully maneuvering through construction caution lights and come upon a blockade that stated: “The Bridge is Closed.” It’s pitch dark, the GPS voice goes silent and I am turning around and going back into town. The local 7/11 is open so I ask the clerk for directions, but she has no clue. I decide to follow my gut and simply drive along the streets of Titusville when I notice a body of water along a shoreline with a sign that says: “Rotary Riverfront Park Brevard County.” Who would know what follows?A few palm trees, a picnic shelter, and a rather menacing dock that extended out into the dark waters and across the bay. It is now 6am and the predawn light is making it way into the horizon. To my surprise, another person is standing on the dock with a tripod and a mini-camera. After a brief introduction, he shares that he is a local student taking pictures for his art class. When I ask him WHERE AM I? He kindly informs me that we are on the bay across from Cape Canaveral and Merritt Island. If the sky is clear without any clouds the sun should rise near the rocket tower.
Many times are journeys in life fall short or are interrupted by unexplained events. What appears to be a detour, a job lost, broken friendship, misguided information leads to other surprises that we would have never anticipated. I believe that our journey with God is to lead us to happiness. Yes, despite our worst fears, our panic, our imaginations goes wild, we are given another chance by God to follow His Way that many times takes us to new locations, meeting new people or putting us in new situations that we never dream. Being open to that spirit might launch us out of our boring jobs into a fulfilling vocation, a road closed might take us to a new location where we get to see life from a new perspective. Remember God does not want us to simply survive in this world with its fears, but to thrive in a way that we take God’s spirit of generosity and kindness to all people in need of a lift.
Sometimes things just don’t work out as we had hoped and planned. We become physically and emotionally worn out, and feel that we will not be able to go on like this in the dark. Then the dawn comes and new surprises come our way. This takes patience, perseverance and trust that God is watching over our shoulder protecting us from ill winds.
The image this morning was quite a surprise for this was not the location the GPS was programmed to me to that morning. I later discovered that my original destination was a two-hour detour due to a broken bridge and so I never arrived at the Visitor Center. We would have to return for another visit.
But take a moment to relax with this image that was a gift and a surprise! Does it not reflect the beauty of nature and the glory of God? On that day, you were in bed and a major snowstorm was dumping 27" on snow in Rochester. But in another far away place and only 32 degrees in Cape Canaveral, God rerouted my destination to remind you that are never lost or abandoned. God holds you each in the palm of his hands.
God prays for us as we reflect: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” (Psalm 19:1).
Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who feel lost and brokened in their journey of life. At times we are misunderstood, yet our friends provide a needed that we are never alone. Let your spirit nudge us in our hearts to realize that when we surrender to your will, all good things will follow.
