Messages from the Secret Place
I had a dream that began like a perfect summer drive.
I was on a road cutting through the woods. Sunlight spilled through the trees. The air felt warm, peaceful. My next turn was coming up—a turn I knew was important. It wasn’t just part of the route. It was necessary to get to my destination.
But then a friend in the backseat began talking, sharing something from her life—only it made no sense. What she was saying was illogical, and I felt the need to help her make sense of it. I got caught up trying to explain why her thinking was off, turning my attention to her voice instead of the road.
When I glanced in the rearview mirror, I saw it—
My turn.
Behind me.
Gone.
In an instant, the sunny day shifted. Clouds rolled in. I heard rushing water ahead. My stomach dropped. The bridge was out, and I was driving directly into a brown, fast-moving river.
I gripped the side of the bridge, trying to hold on, trying to stop the inevitable. My arms gave out. I had to let go.
Then I was standing on the side of the road, watching the truck sink beneath the water. My heart sank with it—not because of the truck, but because my first thought was:
“How am I going to explain this to my husband?”
Here’s what I know now…
The road was my God-given path. The turn represented a key moment of obedience—an opportunity, instruction, or assignment I needed to take seriously. The friend in the backseat? A distraction. Her “illogical” problem symbolized conversations, conflicts, and concerns that drain focus but don’t carry divine priority.
The missed turn didn’t happen because I didn’t know where I was going. It happened because I stopped giving full attention to my own path while trying to fix someone else’s. Side Note: I’m really good at this, much to my husband’s frustration.
The clouds, the broken bridge, the flood—those weren’t random. They revealed what happens when we miss divine timing:
* Clarity turns to confusion.
* The path ahead becomes blocked.
* Momentum is swallowed by someone else’s mess.
The part that pierced me most? Even after I survived, my mind wasn’t on the rescue—it was on explaining myself. How often do we care more about justifying a failure than learning from it?
The Message for Us
Some of us are so busy solving other people’s puzzles that we’re missing our own exits. We’ve been warned, prepared, and instructed by God—but we’re running late on His route because we’re stuck in the backseat of someone else’s chaos.
And here’s the sobering truth: Sometimes you don’t get to circle back to the same turn.
It’s not that God can’t reroute you; He definitely can. But some opportunities are tied to specific timing, specific alignment, and specific obedience. Miss them, and the journey gets longer, harder, and messier than it had to be.
So here’s God’s final word to me (and you?):
Guard Your Focus.
Not every voice deserves your full attention. Even well-meaning people can distract you from what God told you to do.Discern Your Assignments.
Just because you can help someone doesn’t mean you’re called to in that moment.Obedience Has a Window.
Delayed obedience can turn into missed obedience. When God says turn, don’t wait for the next mile marker.
