Is this the right direction?

Traveling in the North Central Region is definitely a team effort. I am very grateful for my traveling companion–Sonja–and her willingness to drive.

Back in the day you’d hear men mutter about “women drivers”…not me!

But anyway, recently we were in Wahpeton, ND for the weekend. The pastor gave us a new way to drive back to Bismarck, promising that it would shave off several minutes on our trip (always a plus).

As is usually the case on Sundays, Sonja takes the first leg of the journey and I nap.

So it was that pretty quickly I had let the seat back and was dozing.

A little later I noticed Sonja slowing down to take a turn and then our vehicle started bumping along on the road. I smiled to myself and thought, no surprise here–we’ve hit a dirt road.

But I wasn’t worried a bit. Dirt roads are not that uncommon in the great northwest. There was no need to panic. We’ve done this before. Afterall, we didn’t know exactly where we were but we knew we were going in the right direction.

In the same way, life is full of unexpected bumpy places.

The future is never absolutely certain. Every day, every hour, every mile can bring bumps and bruises. There is no way to plan for every eventuality. But one thing I’ve learned in this vast region that I call home… even when you’re going through something you’ve never gone through before, as long as you’re going in the right direction eventually things smooth out.

The ONE THING for today: Keep heading in the right direction, eventually things will smooth out.

Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash