We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.—Romans 8:28 Detours – it’s amazing how something so frustrating can be so fruitful.

Often they sneak up on you without warning as you are cruising along thinking that this morning’s commute to work is going pretty well. Then, bam, a sign in front of you warns, “Bridge closed,” and a small orange square with a black arrow directs you on a journey off the beaten path. And you go, hoping there will be more signs along the way that will get you to your destination.

That was not the case this morning as I drove along winding country roads around corn fields and horse farms and not a second detour sign in sight. A right or left turn at any point during my first few miles of travel would have, at most, taken me down a gravel drive and might have earned me an invitation to breakfast at some nice family’s table. So I stayed my course and decided to trust my driving instincts.

A half-hour later I was wandering through a town I didn’t know existed in New Jersey and slowing down to admire the many historic houses that comprised an idyllic neighborhood along a river unknown to me. I found myself thinking it was a place I wouldn’t mind living in, and I was glad to have found it.

I discovered a delightful bagel shop, with a very clean rest room, and a wonderful woman who shared a table with me for 20 minutes, giving me directions and even offering to drive in front of me and lead me to the next major road I would need to take. She thanked me for adding something special to her day. I thought it should have been the other way around.

Last week’s detour wasn’t as pleasant. It took me across the narrow, pitted roads of an urban landscape. Decaying buildings, windows covered in plywood, empty factories reclaimed by nature. In some places the only signs that revealed a neighborhood were the satellite dishes protruding conspicuously from tired roofs or decks. I wouldn’t be slowing down to enjoy the scenery, but I was reminded that the “good life” so many of us have should not be taken for granted.

For many years, coming upon a detour sign would have raised my blood pressure; how high would be dependent on how pressed I was for time or whether I was fearful of getting lost.

Today, I see detours as opportunities for discovering new places, new friends and new ways of getting where I’m going. Most importantly, detours force us to let go of patterns of behavior and to make different choices, two things that are often incredibly difficult for people to do – especially on the road of life.

Detours signify change, and change is a hard thing to navigate. As a wise woman once told me, change is a fount for fear.

If we are blessed, God will bring us to any number of detours in our lives when the need for change exists, especially if we dragging our feet in fear of the unknown, of failure or of success.

But Scripture teaches us that “perfect love casts out fear.” Living with an awareness of God working in our lives, and trusting that God works all things for our good, brings with it the courage to take the high road, the low road, any new road that will unfold God’s will for our lives.

As the adage goes, “Feed your faith and your fears will starve to death.”

Mary Morrell serves as managing editor of The Monitor.