One of my favorite quotes from the movie Big Fish says something to the effect that the long way may be easier, but that it sure is longer. Ironic, right?
Once for several weeks during a summer in college, I worked at a business owned by a family friend in north-eastern Indiana, two hours away from where I lived at the time. I would drive up on Monday morning and stay until Thursday, then drive home. The first time I went, I refused to get directions from a person insisting instead that I would just get them off of the internet. I've always been a sucker for new technology, and at the time, MapQuest was NEW technology. Oh, I got the directions, alright. And despite following those directions meticulously, I ended up in Ohio. Ohio. Yup. Ohio. Talk about taking the long way. I learned a little bit about pride, humility, and patience from that trip. And because of my good humor about the whole ordeal, I managed to land a couple dates with a cute mechanic, but that's a topic for another day.
Of course, that was not the first, nor will it be the last time, that I stubbornly refused to accept help and managed to embark on a longer journey than necessary. There are benefits to the long way around though. I've gotten to see some beautiful country and learned a lot about my strength and really refined my beliefs in God. In fact, taking the long way around is often a hidden blessing. It's only when we lose faith and patience that it seems to hinder us. It's a chance to stop and smell the flowers and see the world from outside of our comfort zone. If, that is, we take the opportunity.
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