He likes it, hey Mikey!!

We are all a little set in our ways to some extent, wouldn't you agree? Mother or father knows best, unless we are the kid, then we are sure we do. It happens in so many ways for me...I'm positive that I am right about things that concern me. I experienced a prime example driving to work this morning. At the first traffic light that I come to each morning, I have two choices. I can go straight, or I can turn left. I go straight because close to a decade ago, I decided that it was by far the BEST way to get to my destination. If I arrive at the light and it is red to go straight and green to turn left...I sit at the light and wait. It's worth the wait, because it is by far the smartest route to take. I know this because I informed myself of that fact years ago, and I know best. Over the weekend I was reading a devotional and it was talking about His ways vs. our own. And that came to mind this morning as I approached that first traffic light. It was red to go straight, but that green left arrow seemed to last forever as I got closer and closer. Now I'm not proclaiming God wanted me to turn left, but I do think He used that situation to make me think a little. For the first time in many years, I abandoned MY path and took another. You can probably guess the outcome. There was much less traffic, fewer lights and I arrived at school faster than I normally do. All because I was willing to try something new. Just like Mikey in the classic Life cereal commercial. His older brothers coaxing Mikey to test out the "healthy" breakfast in a bowl, unwilling to try something new themselves. Of course, much to their amazement, they exclaimed..."he likes it, hey Mikey!!". Several other things popped into my head once I had seen the merit in leaving behind what I thought was best for me on the road this morning. All the relationships that had been so important to me that had ended...in those times, feeling devastated by those conclusions, only to realize that something better had replaced those relationships and knowing God and His ways are better than mine. It seems that I'm a slow learner in that area and He must shake me occasionally to get my attention. I have learned that sometimes the greatest disappointments and hurt, lead to the most amazing joy. It's funny that all that came from a little green arrow on a normal Monday morning.