A Different Path

June 3rd, 2025

I took the wrong way home today. 

Well not exactly wrong, but not the one I typically take.

I thought that I was being followed, so I took a right turn to the back way to my house instead of going straight and going through numerous red lights and copious amounts of traffic. 

Things have felt so off lately. I’ve felt helpless. I’ve felt a bit alone. I’ve been getting so caught up in my same old same old routine that encapsulates me, and hardly ever even try to find a way out. 

I’ve called it ‘remaining faithful and putting all my trust in God’; which is definitely not a bad thing, of course. 

But today I realized that my path may not be as singular as I thought. 

People often look for signs. 

I’m not one to negotiate with God, having previously learned my lesson, but I often fall victim to crafting my own sense of tangible hope by way of mere coincidence. 

But is it always a coincidence?

I’d personally beg to differ. 

You see, I think that God is a funny man. I think that He is multifaceted in ways that our fickle human minds will never be able to comprehend. 

I think that in times that we stray, he may even enjoy the struggles that we go through because it brings us closer to Him. I think that in times that we have nurtured our relationship with Him, especially in a way that becomes a feeling of second nature, I think that the relationship can grow loving and even funny, if you’re brave enough, and faithful enough, to just let it. 

But as I was driving along this unusual path, I received a message from God that was signed, sealed, and delivered straight to me:

Choose a different path. 

This message was delivered by way of a burgundy red, 1967 Ford Mustang; believe it or not. 

I have a longer backstory with this kind of car than any of you would care to hear of, but God knows. And God can be funny like that. 

The owner of this car lives somewhere in a subdivision not far from mine, but yet I hardly ever see it anymore. 

Crossing paths with it used to give me immense hope, fill me with joy, and even alter my perspective a bit. But I hadn’t seen it in months. I gave up on seeing it even. But I truly knew that God was almost saving it for me. 

Hope is a fickle, fickle, trifling thing. 

Today was one of my worst days lately. The house isn’t selling, my husband is being forced to move without us until it does, and I have felt more stuck than I ever have so far in my life. 

But as I previously mentioned, I have let my growing trust in God be used as a bit of a crutch if we’re being honest. God loves those who can help themselves as well; laying dormant and wishing that someday soon things in my life will magically change is redundant and careless thinking. 

I obviously realize there isn’t much I can do to get my house sold just yet, but there is much that I can do to help myself in other areas of my ever-present struggles:

I can simply choose a different path. 

Just like I chose to go a different way today on my way home from work, I can also choose to take a different direction for my negative mindset. I can choose to make a different routine for myself that nurtures joy in my heart and relieves my stress, pain, and anxiety, rather than coming home, moping around, and doom scrolling until it is time for bed. 

All of this; something as simple as seeing a beautiful car at a stop light was enough to remind me of my ability to do just that. Hope doesn’t always have to feel so unobtainable if you can trust in God, reset your sabotaging mind, and learn to get up and help yourself. 

There is always a different path if the one you’ve been taking clearly isn’t for you, and He will always show you the way.