Detoured in Target

Roadblocks and detours often frustrate the day.  Last week, actually, I met up with a detour that was amazingly fun.  The meeting place was Target, in particular a Target store situated between my friend’s house and mine.  We live across town from each other, and on this morning we chose to meet in the middle, as she knew this Target had a quaint little cove behind the coffee counter.  And it was wonderful.  Sitting near the big windows, we enjoyed the coziness inside while watching the rain pouring outside.  We sat there for hours, and in the course of lots of topics, we laughed and cried, and the Lord bestowed many blessings.  We opened our Bibles, and we listened and talked, and I didn’t even realize some of the blessings until about 1:30, when I had to leave for the doctor.  Little did I know that my dermatologist would end up biopsying 2 spots, yet I felt no anxiety in the process.  I credit the calmness to all our laughing and crying having cleansed me earlier, leaving no ground for anxiety to build.  But then came another chapter in the story.  That night by phone, my friend told me she stayed at our coffee cove for another hour after I left.  All that morning, there had been a lady sitting near us, and she glanced toward our table occasionally.  In that hour after I left, she came to ask my friend about the Lord and about studying the Bible.  Man, I wanted to jump out of my skin!  My heart leaped into a dance even as I had to stand still to talk on the phone!  That whole morning, the Lord had been guiding our conversation down a wonderful road we didn’t even realize.  The longer I pondered, the better I understood what had happened in the parking lot.  I remember saying goodbye and pointing to my friend at the table and telling her that we would talk soon.  Putting the key in the car, I wondered why I had assumed my friend would stay at the table.  Why didn’t she just walk out with me?  Yet now I knew the Lord held her feet.  Essentially He roadblocked her feet and detoured her to stay and talk to the lady.  The whole scenario showed again how the Lord orchestrates our movements and conversations.  And still today I smile to think how He steered us onto those second and third roads of blessing so effortlessly.  All we knew was joy in the process.