One Wrong Turn

Welcome to another Thursday UNFILTERED blog post, the only blog that just texted “I’m on my way,” but accidentally sent “I’m in the way.” It just had a therapy breakthrough.

You can alternatively title this piece, “One Wrong Turn and You’re Basically Hosed.”

Last year, my buddy Timbo and I were recording some podcast episodes for The Insurgence Podcast in Orlando.

After we finished recording for the day, we hit a local restaurant for dinner. When we left, I got in the wrong lane and was forced to make a right turn. The turn landed me on one of those annoying roads that had no exit and no U-turn option.

Before I knew it, we ended up at the Orlando airport – a labyrinth if there ever was one.

We spent a good 15 minutes circling through the airport parking garage like a couple of blind moles, laughing our lungs out at how hopelessly trapped we were.

When we finally escaped the concrete jungle, I told Tim, “Dude, you just witnessed how I come up with my Thursday articles. This debacle is getting the blog treatment. Working title: One Wrong Turn. It will be gold, Jerry, gold!”

The point I want to make is both simple and terrifying. One stupid decision in life can throw you off course in a major way. Forget reaching your destination; it may take years to find your way back.

Take my man, Joey. Straighter than a ruler all through high school. But peer pressure’s a witch, isn’t it? On his 21st birthday, his crew convinced him to tip a few back. One DUI later and Joe’s still paying for it. It’s been a decade with jobs turning him down left and right and more wasted cash than you can imagine.

Then there’s Maddie, a hardcore Jesus-follower since 15. She stayed pure as the driven snow until crumbling to temptation at 21 with her supposedly “nice-guy” bf. BAM – chronic disease! (Yep, incurable STD.) Fifteen years later she’s still dealing with that nightmare.

Then there’s Caleb. The kid had a bright future until he got mixed up with the wrong crowd senior year, despite Mom and Dad’s warnings. One convenience store stickup later from his loser buddies, and Caleb’s been branded an accomplice ever since.

I could go on, but you get the idea.

One wrong turn. A single momentary lapse in judgment, and your life’s headed down Trouble Trail. No re-routing, just decades of suffering.

So listen up. Think long and hard before making any numbskull decisions. Otherwise, you might take a wrong turn that leads you into a labyrinth from which you may never escape.

Sure, God is always willing to forgive. And thankfully He does. But that doesn’t erase the baggage or the consequences.

So why put yourself through such a nightmare—a nightmare that will last longer than a 15-minute detour in a Florida airport.

P.S. This is for those who have inquired. The How to Live by the Indwelling Life of Christ course is available until May 15^th.