By Tracy Forest
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20 Aug, 2023
A funeral took me back to my hometown in north Florida this weekend, back to my great-grandparents' homestead, back to twisting, winding, country roads. As I was navigating back roads, trying to remember shortcuts to various family member's houses, I had to make some adjustments on the fly, like when I missed a turn and had to "bang a u-ey" by a cow pasture. It was really bad at night, because there are NO lights out in the boonies and every dirt road looks the same. It reminded me of my summer. There were some unexpected turns that caught me off guard, and I did not navigate them well. I wish there had been warning signs like the one in this photo...but would I have paid attention? Or would I have ignored the warnings and still crashed? Sudden turns in our plans are inevitable regardless of how much we think we have things under control. The job has layoffs - sudden turn. The health report comes back less than great - sudden turn. A relationship ends - sudden turn. The washing machine breaks, the car starts making a funny noise, the A/C breaks - sudden turns, especially the latter! As I was alone in our family cottage last night, contemplating my summer of turns, I ran through a range of emotions, from sadness, to anger, to defeat, and ultimately to resolve. When I was a mental health therapist, I encouraged my clients struggling with depression to tackle their day by getting dressed. Don't sit around in pajamas. Get dressed as soon as you get out of bed. Accomplishing that one thing will make you more likely to accomplish the next thing, like eating breakfast. I had to give myself the same instructions last night: do the next thing. I can't control the sudden turns, but I can control how I navigate them. I'm reminded of a passage from Proverbs: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean NOT on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths." Yeah, I think I'll do that.