A fork in the road

For most people a "fork in the road" means that there was a decision to make at some point along their path.  But the photo above caught my attention because, in it, there appears to be only one road.  However there is a small obstacle in the way; an object so small, yet with the ability to puncture a tire and render your trip un-traversable.

I do not see my world as a series of paths.  I see it as one road, one goal, one purpose.  I wish to seek Jesus with all my heart, make Him greater, allow my joy in Him to be my beacon and then boldly shine His light on anyone who is in the dark about their infinite value.  Regardless of the turns my life takes, this is still my main highway.  There are no other roads I need to worry about.  If I am derailed from the road I'm traveling, its usually because I'm distracted by an inconsequential obstacle in my path.

For example, right now, I feel like I'm at potential crossroads, wondering if I'm making the correct choices.  I have so many to make: where to move, with whom to homeschool, what kind of work I want to pursue, how to invest, etc.  These are important decisions and I feel as though I have lost the beacon that has directed me in the past.  As a result, I can't take another step because I don't know where to go.

All I can see is all these decisions I'm supposed to make, and I'm worried about making the right ones, wondering how I'm supposed to be able to logically decipher the correct path on the road with many.  There are so many possibilities right now, so many paths, so many mistakes I can make.

There are too many roads in my line of sight.  And that's how I know there's a fork in my only road; an object so inconsequential but with the potential to utterly derail me.  The fork is Fear.  Fear of being abandoned by God, as I have been by so many others.  Fear of making the wrong decision, as I have in the past.  Fear of not having the courage to follow where God is leading.  Fear for the future and fear of the past.

But fear doesn't belong to me.  Only joy and peace and love do.  Fear is such an easy target for Jesus because love casts out fear and He IS love.  It's just what love does and what love is.  Love is the absence of fear.

And so the decisions still need to be made, papers still need to be signed, job applications need to be filled out, leases are running out and school is starting soon.  But I reject the fork that is in the road.  I reject fear and I stand in the promise that God's got this.  He's proven Himself over and over and over.  For me to allow fear to derail me at this point would be as foolish as the Israelites doubting God's direction while they were nibbling on some manna, filling their cups with rock water, under a cool cloud cover in the middle of the desert.  Ridiculous.