Crooked Paths

Mom had a friend who always said that God's paths are crooked.  Just when you think the path is obvious and straight ahead of you, when you become complacent and used to the path you're on, it suddenly becomes apparent that it wasn't so straight after all.  Nor perhaps should it be.  When I think about it, the curved line is more interesting to my eye than the linear one.  I have a friend who oversaw the design and construction of a building where many of the interior walls are curved.  The effects are quite calming and pleasing.  A spring garden of tulips and daffodils was planted at our church last fall.  It's definitely agreeable -- and visually more interesting -- to see how the bed meanders like a snake's path across the lawn.  While I am sometimes prone to linear thinking and putting one foot in front of the other down the so-called straight and narrow path, I'm comforted in knowing that my straight path doesn't necessarily match God's and that those crooked paths are really often where I belong.