Have you ever wondered why God chooses the paths He does to get His will done?  In the Old Testament, He chose Abraham and Sarah, a childless, elderly couple to start a nation telling them their descendants would be more numerous than the stars in the heavens?  Looking at them, no one thought this was possible.  Yet, it became a reality. 

As the New Testament tells us when the time came for Jesus to be born, Mary and Joseph looked to rent a comfortable room in an inn.  They found none.  They settled instead for a stable with a manger full of straw.  Why does God allow such hardships, especially when we are only trying to accomplish what He is asking us to do?

Indeed, God chooses a path that often takes much reflection to think through and   the mindful patience to understand it This is why our God is so astonishing and surprising. He does not choose what you or I would consider the easiest and most direct way.

God does have a plan.  He knows the end He desires. God is not as anxious to get to the finish line as we might be.  God is more interested in what happens along the way.  God wants us to go deeper, and to grasp it’s meaning, through the experiences He provides to us to live, but also to comprehend.

God is always about the journey.  Life’s curves force new directions and its detours offer new routes.  God wants us to realize how we are handling our journey’s twists and turns and meeting its challenges.

Abraham and Sarah waited a long time to have a child, but they never gave up and even today their descendants still populate the earth.  They simply lived their lives one present moment to the next.  Joseph and Mary found shelter and when they did, shepherds, angels, and kings brought the warmth of their love and affection.  God does have a plan.

Our God is concerned about every step we take on our paths and not just the final one.  He knows that if we take all the steps we are supposed to our final step will be made perfectly.  And we will be with Him.

As St. Francis De Sales writes: Be more concerned with the next step rather than only the last one.  If we are, then the last one will come easily. 

If God made us to be with Him, we need to trust that every road, crooked or straight, will lead to Him. Stay trusting and make every turn!