Making A Wrong Turn (and what to do afterwards)

Yesterday my hubby picked me up from work. He informed me shortly after I entered the car of a detour he had to make to a friend's place before we got home. He knows the area well but somehow, he missed a turn and had to go around the block to get back to the right street he had initially intended to make a turn on.

I did not think anything of it but almost immediately after he missed the turn, Fred smiled and said "This is what happens in life when you take a wrong turn. Something that should have taken you 5 years takes you 15 because you made a wrong turn." I turned to look at him briefly and simply sighed in agreement because his very simple statement was loaded with such powerful wisdom and truth. 

And then (like I always do), I got lost in my thoughts. Had I made a wrong turn (or turns!) in my life ? There are definitely times when I felt I have !

When I left my home country Ghana almost 10 years ago to attend college in the United States, it was both exciting and scary. Scary because I was leaving my parents and siblings, all my friends, familiar surroundings and food to a place where I hardly knew anyone. Exciting because I was looking forward to meeting new people, learning new things and being exposed to opportunities that America is so well-known to provide. I planned on going to medical school and becoming the physician I had dreamed of becoming pretty much my entire life.

Do you want to know the number of times I have thought that coming to America was the worst turn I have made in my life ? I won't bore you with those details but needless to say those times have been many. My dream of going to medical school did not happen. I did end up going to nursing school and now I am getting a PhD for which I am grateful considering that there are literally millions  of girls who do not even have the opportunity to go to school or anything like that. So I still consider myself highly blessed. However, I have sometimes wondered "What would have happened if I had simply stayed in Ghana ? Did I walk out of God's will when I left home ? Will my life have been relatively easier (with a lot less drama ! ) had I  been in more familiar surroundings? Am I impacting enough people for Christ by being here ?" These and many other questions have plagued my mind for years.

One day I had to come to this conclusion : whether I made the right choice or not, I am now here. By the grace of God, I've accomplished a lot and I should be grateful and proud of that. I choose not to live in self-pity and self-doubt anymore. I've committed my future to God and I have to leave it up to Him to help me figure it out because after all He is my Daddy, right ?

I know my story is hardly a "my-world-is-falling-apart" kind of story but I am sure there are people who may identify.

What do you do when you make a wrong turn in life ? Well in the coming weeks I hope to delve into the Book of Ruth to explore that. Naomi returning from Moab after losing her husband and both of her sons may have felt she failed in life.  But God still had a calling for her life : to be Ruth's mentor.

So this is me inviting you to join me as we delve into the book of Ruth and learn from women who like most of us had to figure out God's purpose for their lives after their whole world seemed like it was falling apart.

I am hoping to work on some resources this weekend and have them up on this website for download sometime next week. Look out for it !

God bless you and keep you.

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