I love my two GPS maps, which are on my i-phone. My Google map speaks with a high-pitched voice, so I named her Lady Goo Goo. My Waze map is a little goofy, so I gave her a fun name: Wazie. They guide me all the time, because I have a terrible sense of direction. Many times, I even need them to get me home from where I was! But what I love about Wazie and Lady Goo Goo is that they tolerate my decisions to go in a different direction when I feel like it or when I think it might be better. They don't shut down or warn me that I'm going the wrong way. They just recalibrate the route, so I can still reach my destination. I love that about my GPS. I liken this to God's grace. God sets a path for us to follow, but we don't always want to go that way. In fact, we will veer off the path from time to time to go on a route that we think is "better." But God, in his infinite mercy, "recalibrates" our route so that we will still reach our ultimate destination: heaven. We get selfish, sinful, angry and decide to follow our desires, then we decide to change, and thus, we have taken a round-about way. I am so thankful to God that he is my ultimate GPS!
So when you are veering off the path a bit, just remember that God is there to always lead us home again.