Back Roads

When I leave my house to go run errands, I have a choice. I can turn right to head off to the highway or turn left to take the back roads. Both directions take about the same amount of time and the same amount of gas. Being my father's daughter, I choose to take the back roads and am constantly amazed by the majesty of where I live. 

I have been driving these same roads since I was 16 and had my first job at the movie theater the next town over, but I just didn't see it back then. 

When I was in high school, I knew that I would live in the city, probably wouldn't get married, and definitely wouldn't have children.  I wanted to go to school and eventually earn a PhD and become a professor and write books. I wanted to be able to walk out my front door and go to coffee shops and boutiques. (Apparently, I wanted to be an amalgamation of the characters from Friends.)

After finishing a study of the first two chapters of Matthew, I just keep seeing how God's plan for my life is so much better than my plan. At this point, I have earned only a bachelor's degree. Now, as a stay at home mom, I am technically unemployed. The nearest coffee shop is a 20 minute drive. I don't have the resources (or the desire) to shop at boutiques. The closest I get to designer clothing is Target.

But now, I don't want for anything, and I have everything I never knew I wanted.  God has sheltered me and cared for me and led me down a path that I couldn't have imagined for myself, a path that is so much better and more fulfilling. I am humbled and thankful and know that whether my day is hard or easy, whether my road is rocky or smooth, I can trust in Him.

Also, an alternate title for this post: "We're from the country, and we like it that way." I sing this to Will pretty much every time we drive down these roads, and as a result, I'm sure he will also go through a phase where he wants nothing more than to move to a big city.