Detours
The sun was shining through the screen of my porch, so I tucked a little deeper into my chair, soaking in every bit of the warmth I could. It was still morning and I was feeling immensely grateful to have an entire day dedicated to editing. As a wedding photographer, it had been a wonderful and busy spring season and now…it was time to catch up on the workload that lay before me.
I grabbed my computer and settled it into my lap before opening it to continue the quest of finalizing these cherished photos. I had about 4 weddings lined up to work on over the next few weeks, which all in all, averaged to be 6,000-7,000 photos.
I smiled softly, feeling a wave of joy towards this wonderful job I get to do, and continued clicking away until I quickly noticed my screen had frozen and an error message had popped up.
I could feel my heart drop down to my toes. My eyes scanned each word at least a dozen times; inside my gut twisted in terror - my palms began shaking.
A simple message that spelled disaster:
“Missing files - Adobe Lightroom must close.”
My eyes shot over to my hard drive plugged into my laptop - a warning light that only spelled trouble, blinked steadily.
No, no, no… please…. please Lord...I don’t understand…
The joy I had felt only moments ago vacated me, and panic took its place. In a flurry I tried what I could think of - restarting everything, unplugged and replugged whatever I could get my hands on…but all remained as it was. My hard drive, which contained every one of my current projects for the year, suddenly crashed. There was no explanation for why it had happened. But I was relying on it, and it failed. I hadn’t dropped or bumped it - I could only chalk it up to a manufacturer error…but this was not part of my plan.
I imagined the hours of painstaking work potentially lost forever. The photos were irreplaceable, and the thought of starting from scratch was overwhelming. How would I tell the couples? How do I even convey what had happened? Oh how their hearts would break…I sat in silence, staring at the error message on my computer screen.
But then…it hit me. In that moment of crisis, I remembered my multiple backup systems—other drives, cloud storage, and the original SD cards. I had set them up as I worked, thinking they were just a precaution, but now they seemed like a lifeline. With tears of gratitude and a whisper of hope, I began the process of recovering data from the backups. As the files slowly reappeared on my screen, I felt a wave of relief wash over me. Every photo, every precious moment was preserved. My quest continued and my joy was restored.
"The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him." Nahum 1:7
Sometimes, it feels like life pushes us to the edge, forcing us into situations we didn’t expect or ask for. Plans fail, opportunities slip away, and we’re left wondering what went wrong. So we make a Plan B. Whether for a career, a relationship, or even a simple road trip, we take comfort in knowing that, if our first choice fails, we have something else to fall back on. We cling to these dreams and desires, but what happens when even these plans fail? How can we prepare for the twists and turns that life so often brings?
This is where God's plan comes in—a plan that is not just another option but the ultimate backup that never fails. (unlike the hard drive I WAS relying on…) Proverbs 19:21 says, "Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." This verse reminds us that while we may make our own plans, it is God's purpose that stands firm, and His plan is always in place, even when ours falter.
Think of it this way: when we hit roadblocks, when doors close, or when we face disappointments, it’s easy to feel like we’ve failed. But what if those setbacks are simply opportunities for God’s plan to come into clearer view? His plan often enters our lives when we’re most vulnerable - once we let go of what we were clinging tightly to; it is in this that we often get a glimpse of how He has been working behind the scenes.
In other words, what if the very moment we consider all is lost to be the moment God's plan is about to shine through?
When things don't go as we hope, we can easily think we've missed our opportunity, or perhaps that God’s perfect plan slipped through our fingers. But the truth is, God's plan doesn't fail just because ours does. When we feel like we’ve detoured from our desires, we might actually be on God’s original Plan A for our lives.
Think about the story of Joseph in the Bible. He had dreams of greatness, but his life took many unexpected turns. He was betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery, falsely accused, and imprisoned. Every earthly plan he might have had seemed to fail. But God had a plan that was greater than anything Joseph could have imagined. In the end, Joseph became a ruler in Egypt and saved many lives during a famine, including his own family. What seemed like a series of unfortunate events was, in fact, God’s plan unfolding perfectly.
The same is true for us. Even when we feel like we're on our backup idea, God’s purpose is still unfolding. His "Plan A" for us includes every unexpected turn, every heartbreak, and every change of course. What we see as a detour is often God’s main route to the destination He’s had in mind all along.
When we think of a backup plan, we often imagine something less than ideal, something we fall back on because Plan A didn’t work out. But God’s "backup plan" isn’t a downgrade—it's a lifeline. It's an invitation to experience something greater than what we initially envisioned. When we trust God’s plan, we realize that He’s been equipping us for something we couldn’t have prepared ourselves for.
So, the next time you face a detour, remember that what feels like a deviation from your path might be God's direct route to His will. His plan isn’t an afterthought—it’s the foundation that has been carrying you all along. Trust that He knows what He’s doing, even when you don’t.
Lean on Him, and let His plan be your ultimate backup—a plan that never fails, never wavers, and always leads to His perfect will.
