Be on Guard When Life Takes a Detour

What does it mean to be on guard when life takes a detour? Eight months after receiving “guard” as my focus word for 2022, I’m beginning to appreciate its relevance to my life in ways I hadn’t imagined.

“Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong,” says 1 Corinthians 16:13″ (NLT).

In times past, I’ve read that verse and nodded in agreement before closing my Bible and going on my merry way for the day. But this week was different.

Life has taken a detour

I’m sitting in a friend’s basement suite as I write this. Sailor-Man and I are temporarily displaced from our boat-home while she sits in the marina’s repair yard. A submerged log bent her rudder in July, and without a rudder, she has no steering capacity.

A massive sling pulled her from the river on August 9, and there she sits, on the concrete, more than two weeks later with only a hopeful end date in sight.

Living in the repair yard especially during summer heat is not for the faint of heart. I’m okay with using public showers, but exiting the vessel via steep stairs to use the community outhouse especially at night—not so much. Besides, there’s no access to wi-fi there, and I can’t do my work without it.

When friends invited us to stay in their basement suite an hour’s drive from the marina, we accepted their offer with gratitude. Still, Sailor-Man drives back and forth nearly every day to oversee repairs while juggling his ministry responsibilities.

The other day, he made the round trip twice, and he has spent about ten nights aboard the Makana to accommodate the repair guys’ early morning schedule and to ensure all systems—especially the freezer—continue to work.

I miss my routine

Writing deadlines are hurtling towards me at breakneck speed, and I’m seriously struggling to meet them. It didn’t help that my computer went for repairs last Wednesday, and things didn’t go as well as expected. I lost access to my documents for three days. That meant losing three days to prepare for upcoming speaking engagements, write podcast episodes, and research for my next First 5 assignment.

A little voice inside says, “It’s time to push the panic button.” Another says, “It’s time to practice what it means to be on guard.” I’m choosing to listen to the latter voice, and wow—it’s taking me to new places. New lessons learned. New fodder for writing.

What does it mean to be on guard when life takes a detour?

Here are 5 hot-off-the-press insights:

Be on guard, the Word warns

It’s the only way to keep hope alive when life takes a detour. Besides, there’s a silver lining to this whole misadventure: I’m learning firsthand to re-apply the lessons about which I’ve written in Keeping Hope Alive: Devotions for Strength in the Storm.