Rear-view Mirror

But forget all that—
it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.
For I am about to do something new.
See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?
I will make a pathway through the wilderness.
I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.
Isaiah 43:18-19 (NLT)

Call it women's intuition—or more likely the leading of the Holy Spirit—but I knew that last week Mark and I were supposed to head out on different journeys. We do not normally travel separately but he needed to go to Tennessee to visit his family, so I decided to sneak in a quick trip to California to see the girlies. When the plans were made, we did not anticipate either set of family having any special needs. Yet, in the middle of it all, we both knew that this was definitely where God wanted each of us to be. We were able to be there for those that we love and spend time loving on them…even if it was only to go to a favorite lunch place or lend a listening ear. This trip reminded me of a comment made by our pastor at a recent church retreat. He encouraged us to look for God's purpose and plan for each of us in the rear-view mirror of life. How often do we fret in the midst of the daily grind about the details of our purpose and plans? It is only in hindsight that we see the twists and turns necessary to bring us to the path God wants us to travel. I am so thankful that He is there to guide me…and sometimes He allows a backward glance of where I have been as a praise and glory to His name.