God Had Another Route Planned ‘Fer’ Me

Well now…

I almost became a mail carrier.

Yep.

Almost.

For a little while there, I truly thought delivering mail might be the next road I was supposed to travel~ one that would help support my gifts. It sounded steady. Respectable. Useful. Folks always need their mail delivered, after all.

There was just one small problem.

Well… perhaps it was more than one.

First, I needed the right kind of vehicle for the route. It was a very rural one, and unfortunately, the proper vehicle required quite a bit more money than I had.

Unfortunately, my bank account and that vehicle were not presently acquainted.

I looked. I figured. I calculated. I probably recalculated the calculations.

No matter how many times I moved the numbers around, they refused to cooperate.

Then there was poor ol’ Mary.

To this very day, I still ain’t entirely certain what street that woman lives on.

I had met her one day, and she tried to explain where she lived.

I searched one way.

I searched another.

I studied the directions until the words nearly wore themselves off the page.

But Mary’s house remained a mystery known only to her, the United States Postal Service, and the good Lord above.

By the time it was all said and done, I felt completely defeated.

I had no proper mail vehicle.

I could not locate poor Mary.

And any vision I had of confidently driving through town while folks waved from their porches had begun fading faster than a handwritten address left out in the rain.

Someone tried to make me feel better.

“Well,” they said, “good thing you’re still a little purdy.”

Now, don’t y’all go gettin’ carried away.

I repeat…

A little.

Well…

I’ll be jiggered.

The whole experience got me to lookin’, ponderin’, prayin’, and scratchin’ what little hair I’ve got left on my head.

I began wonderin’…

“Lord, what in the world am I even supposed to be doin’ here?”

Have you ever reached one of those moments?

You thought you knew exactly where you were headed. You had the route pictured in your mind. You may have even started moving toward it.

Then suddenly, the road closed.

The vehicle was out of reach.

The directions did not make sense.

And poor Mary was nowhere to be found.

At first, all you can see is what did not work.

The opportunity you missed.

The money you did not have.

The door that would not open.

But sometimes, after the disappointment settles and you become quiet enough to listen, you begin to realize that perhaps the road did not close because you had failed.

Perhaps it closed because you were headed toward the wrong destination.

And then, just as clear as day, it hit me.

All that time, I thought I was supposed to be delivering the mail.

Turns out…

God had me deliverin’ stories instead.

Maybe that had been the plan all along.

Not letters.

Not packages.

But stories.

Stories that make folks smile after they have had a difficult day.

Stories that remind people of home, even when home feels far away.

Stories about neighbors who quietly lend a hand and never expect anybody to notice.

Stories about old roads, favorite meals, mischievous critters, small-town happenings, unexpected kindness, and the people who make our communities worth calling home.

Stories that remind us there is still good happening all around us.

That is how Word ’Round Town found its way into my heart.

It was not created because I believed the world needed one more place filled with arguments, anger, and discouragement.

We already have plenty of places for that.

I wanted to create a place where good news could travel from town to town.

A place where everyday people mattered.

A place where laughter could sit beside faith, memories could sit beside current happenings, and one person’s story might encourage somebody they have never even met.

A place where someone could end the day with a deep, exhaling breath~ and a smile to go along with it.

So no…

I never did become a mail carrier.

And poor Mary may still be standin’ beside her mailbox wondering what happened to me.

But I reckon God knew exactly what He was doin’.

I was worried about finding the right vehicle.

He was preparing another journey.

I was trying to locate one address.

He was giving me entire communities to explore.

I thought I had lost my route.

He simply had another ROUTE planned fer me.

And if y’all don’t mind…