Taking the "Y" in the Path.

I'm guessing I was about 10 when I, my older sister 11, and my younger sister 9, took a detour on the way home from the local park swimming pool.

We initially took our normal path, but along that path was a very shady looking character.  By the time we got into his view, he looked over and started walking our way.  Between us there was some under the breath discussion about taking the "Y" in the path to avoid him.  We elbowed each other to the left, onto a different sidewalk and never looked back as we picked up our pace without being too obvious, not wanting to draw attention to ourselves. 

To add to the tension us two older sisters were trusted with our baby sister on this swimming trip, she seldom got to go with us because of a recent illness.

Our first big mistake was when the path threw us onto an unfamiliar street about a city block down from our normal - designated by parents - street that took us home.  We walked several blocks on that street, talking all the way, still pretty shook from the incident, when suddenly we saw our Dad's car coming towards us.  We panicked.  We were late, and on the wrong street. 

What made us do what we did next still surprises me.

Our Dad came looking because he loved us, he was worried because we were late, and he had already checked our designated streets for us.  I can only imagine the panic he was in looking everywhere for his 3 little girls.

WE DOVE BEHIND SOME BUSHES UNTIL HE DROVE PAST.

The 3 of us sisters discuss this incident a lot.  Knowing what punishment was ahead, facing the wrath of an angry Dad, yet not being a parent yet, and not knowing the panic he was suffering, let alone the Mom at home scared to death, we made the wrong decision and paid dearly.

To this day decades later I still have a sick feeling when I think of the pain I brought to my parents that day.  It seems no discipline can remove that sinking feeling that I failed them.  I remember having second thoughts about hiding from my Daddy, but following the lead of my big sister. 

I would never blame her for this because she was carrying the heavy weight of responsibility for 2 sisters and therefore in even deeper doo-doo than me.

We ran through an alley, got over onto our own street and the next time he drove past us we were within view of our own house, we got in the car and heard the screaming silence as he parked the car in the alley behind our house and marched us into the house.  Our Mom's red eyes as she met us at the door were our only greeting. 

The rest is history.  Trips to the pool were limited, and there was a drill before we left, a lecture, threats and even some tips on avoiding shady characters.

I've never told my Dad about hiding in the bushes.  I suppose it would give him a chuckle now, or would it break his heart?

I think of excuses we use to take another path, reasons we come up with to take a situation into our own hands, rationale we use to go against the flow and then I comprehend why there must be guidelines and boundaries for our lives. 

God lays out a path for each of us, a purpose and a plan.  We hide in the bushes of our bad decisions, call it what it isn't (a slight detour because someone else - a shady character - looked our way) and suddenly we're so full of shame and facing such painful discipline, we have no relationship with God.

Been there?  Ask for forgiveness, move forward and watch what God can do with your life.

Hebrews 12:9-10 (NIV)

⁹Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! ¹⁰Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.