1 Thessalonians 1:9 - How to do a 180 in a snow drift

We had made a wrong turn. Well, my brother Rick was driving. I've had my own wrong turns, but anyway...

We were on Christmas break from our respective colleges in Chicago, making our way to our parents' home in North Carolina. We ended up in a town we'd never visited before. Snow was already deep. Visibility wasn't the best. The roads were slick with packed-down snow.

As we approached an unfamiliar intersection, my brother realized that he was about to slide into the cross traffic. However, there was a nice snow drift of plowed snow right next to the pavement. It was just like a runaway ramp for trucks on mountain highways. Or so it seemed. He aimed the car for the snowdrift.

Instead of stopping the car, the snow caught the front, right bumper of the car. We gently spun around in a complete 180-degree turn, facing a rapidly approaching semi truck . Rick calmly pulled over into the other lane. All we could do was laugh at the bizarre U-turn, aiming us back to the route we were supposed to be on in the first place.

Sometimes getting off track in life calls for a minor, midcourse correction. Sometimes much more is needed. When we're completely headed in the wrong direction we need to "do a 180."

Paul described how the Thessalonian Christians had "turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God" (1 Thessalonians 1:9 New American Standard, 1995) 

When our lives are filled with God-substitutes, the only thing to do is to make a U-turn, turning from substitutes to the real thing: God Himself.

God in heaven, you know how easy it is for us humans to make one wrong turn and before we know it, we're heading in the wrong direction, away from You. Forgive us and turn our hearts back toward you. And keep us from hitting anyone else in the process of getting back on track!  In Jesus' name, Amen.