Why Good Choices?

This week I did a road trip with my daughter to pick up my grandson from Boy Scout Camp. She doesn’t like to use a GPS, so she printed the directions from Yahoo Maps. She drove and I was the navigator. We did fine for the first 150 miles and then I told her the directions said to turn left. She questioned me on it, saying she saw a sign pointing to the right. I insisted that the directions said we were to go left. Like the obedient daughter she is, she turned left. She drove about 15 minutes and questioned me again. I kept insisting that the directions said to go left. Finally, after about 30 minutes, it started to feel wrong to both of us. Instead of seeing signs telling us how far away the town was, we were headed deeper into nowhere. Fortunately, I have a GPS on my iPhone, so I plugged in the address. I was just sick when I realized we were now 50 miles away from our destination. Not only were we off track, but we were now an hour away and had to get to the camp before they closed the gates. If we couldn’t get in, then our 4 hour drive had been for nothing.

Instead of backtracking, we were able to catch a series of highways that took us where we needed to be. The roads were under construction and at times we felt like giving up and turning around. We continued on until the highway became smooth again and started to make better time. We pulled inside the gate at 5:03 pm, just minutes after the 5:00 pm deadline. Fortunately, the gate had not been closed, and we were able to get in and find my grandson. He was happy to see us, and I was even happier to see that although we arrived later than we expected, we had made it inside.

Looking at the directions later that night, I could see that I had been wrong. I totally missed the slight RIGHT that came before the LEFT. Had we gone just 1/3 of a mile right, and THEN made that left, we’d have been right on track. We would have arrived in plenty of time and would have avoided all the stress associated with getting there on time.

I couldn’t help thinking about how this relates to life. We may know our destination, but we have to take the correct roads to get there. We may drive for hundreds of miles, but unless we’re going in the right direction, we’re just getting further from our destination.

Here are the lessons I learned.

1. Know your destination and the exact location.
2. Know how to get there. Have the right directions
3. Pay attention to signs along the way. Are they confirming that you’re going in the right direction?
4. Listen to your gut. If you think you’re off track, pull over and take a minute to check. Smart people ask for direction.
5. If you get turned around, find help. Your trip may be longer, but with help, you can still reach your destination.

Once I realized we were headed in the wrong direction, I felt physically sick. I blamed myself for not catching that slight turn. I was angry with myself for causing stress to my daughter. I worried that after taking the time to drive there, we might not be able to see my grandson at all. I worried at how unhappy he would be if we were unable to get in. I prayed silently that everything would work out. I kept thinking, “If I could just go back to Point A and start all over again, we’d be fine.”

This reminded me of sin. We may become lost simply because we allowed ourselves to take a seemingly insignificant detour. Once we fall off track and start to see the consequences, we wonder how we could have gotten so far from our destination. Our action causes pain not only to ourselves but to those who love us. When we get to the point we feel all is lost, we get on our knees and pray for help. In a state of humility, we are willing to take the steps necessary to get back on the right path. We may have caused God to be unhappy with our behavior, but like every loving parent, He still wants us to live with him.

It’d be great if we didn’t have detours along the way, but fortunately, the road to salvation has been paved for us through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We can be forgiven of our sins. We can redirect our course and get back on the correct path. We may feel we have lost time during the repentance process, but it’s all for our good. As long as you’re on the right path, the time of arrival doesn’t really matter. Heavenly Father will be there to welcome you because His gate is always open.

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