I Am Not Lost

The Good News Today Is....I am not lost. I do, however, take detours when I am under stress. I find that the words of Paul ring true for me today, as they did for folks back in the early centuries: "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do." Rom 7:15. For me, when I am stressed out by what is going on around me in the world, I bury myself in a good romance novel and ignore absolutely everything else. That is my detour. It is no different than avoiding things through the use of alcohol or drugs, or shopping sprees, or gossip sessions. It is still avoidance and a non-biblical way of dealing with our life here on earth. I don't do it as often as I used to, and when I do it, it is much more short term than it used to be. The point is I still do it - even though I know I shouldn't and even though I know it is counterproductive. The stress is still there to face when I lift my nose from out of the pages of the novel. The short interlude in a world of fantasy does not let me off the hook to deal with life's "stuff". I still have to deal...and usually because I've been ignoring the "stuff", there is more "stuff" added to my already stressful scenario. I do come back around though and face the music, so I truly am not lost, just detoured. I long for the day when the detour is a thing of the past.