Detour

By Benjamin O'Loughlin 

You believe. I believe. Millions believe. And that changes... nothing. Unless your faith is more than a dud.

A good chunk of yesterday's papal audience was dedicated to paths of faith: opening up to God by examining the marvels of the world and of mankind itself. But the real message—a wake-up call for believers everywhere—came first: faith is not irrelevant. 

Cold coffee? No power? Your oldest just knocked your youngest's front tooth out? Flat tire? Just spilled hot coffee on your skirt on your way to work?


For unbelievers that adds up to one terrible day. And believers? They might have a terrible day too—with one big difference. Meaning. God knows what he's doing. When things go wrong and our plan for the day takes a massive detour, it means that he sent us down a different street. There's a reason. His back-roads will always be shorter and faster than our ideal route.

It's easy to say that God exists. It's also very easy to forget that he exists, especially when you're walking around MacDonald's dripping coffee and having trouble finding the napkins.

Don't forget. God is there. He knows every road on the map of our lives. He sees what's waiting for us around the next corner or even miles down the road, and he knows when to turn us down a different path. We just need to trust him... even at MacDonald's. Trust is faith here and now.

Go here for the full text of the Pope's audience.