DETOUR

I am not a fan of detours. Whenever I am driving and see a "detour" sign, I sigh and pray for patience. Detours take us out of our comfortable auto-pilot mode, they force us to increase our concentration, and more often than not, they cause us to arrive late at our destination.?

But detours are inevitable in life and necessary in the spiritual life, as long as the detour signs are placed on our path by God. They are meant to protect us from dangerous zones of sinful behavior and lead us to a spiritual renewal and rebirth.?

Failing to make the detour with the guidance of the Holy Spirit can result in our encounter with all sorts of dangers on the road, such as potholes and cracks like venial sins, or even worse, a major ditch like mortal sin.

Such dangers are detrimental to our spiritual growth on our journey toward heaven and can even be irreversible and close the entrance door to heaven. The sheep follow the shepherd and heed his voice. What about us? Do we heed the voice of the Good Shepherd and follow him daily and faithfully? Or do we ignore the detours that are necessary for our purification and salvation?

When we trust and follow the Spirit of Truth, we enjoy the ride and discover beautiful scenery on the road, which we probably would not have discovered on our own. Most importantly, we find peace knowing that we are being led to our final destination without danger or uncertainty.?