reDIRECTed

ready for the ride? redirection doesn't have to be frustrating - it's a matter of perspective

As I walked up to the badge reader on my floor (admittedly on autopilot after my morning commute), I saw the sign:

Granted, it wasn't a huge inconvenience to walk a few more steps to go around the long way to my desk. Chuckling to myself, I reflected on how the “old Kayren” would've huffed and puffed with a slight complaint cheerily veiled in a wistful response like, “Oh well, I guess I needed the exercise.”

I was redirected.

“18 Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.
19 Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”
(Isaiah 43:1-19, KJV)

It did interrupt my regular routine. But little did I know that this was the beginning of several weeks of redirection messages.

zoom!

Not for meetings - while driving…

🤔I didn’t think I was a distracted driver…until I found myself several miles PAST my intended exit - TWICE - last week.😳 It was my regular commute route - two different directions on two different days. I knew exactly how to reach my destination.

🐢God got my attention. #SlowDown 🐌

I had been listening to scripture on my phone (and probably making a mental grocery list simultaneously) when a call came in, flipped from my GPS screen, and suddenly engulfed in conversation, I was thinking about everything except getting to my parking garage. I was ROLLIN’ and 7 miles past my regular exit when I came to myself and realized I was almost near the airport! Geesh…

“And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.”
(I Samuel 3:10, KJV)

I was redirected once again.

🤔I didn’t think I was a distracted driver…until I found myself several miles PAST my intended exit - TWICE - in the past week.😳 It was my regular commute route - I was going in two different directions on two different days. Yet, I knew exactly how to reach my destination.

🐢God got my attention. #SlowDown 🐌

“And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.”

(I Samuel 3:10, KJV)

👉🏽Multitasking is a MYTH!😯

you guessed it…

It happened again today - BIG TIME.

I was redirected MULTIPLE TIMES.

It was almost ironic - except I was starting to realize the hand of God at work.

TRULY, this was my story today as I went to 2 different nail shops before ending up at the one I was purposed to be at. Backstory: I’d literally been asking God for WEEKS to show me a new salon closer to my house. I wanted a peaceful atmosphere with friendly, welcoming, skilled service providers.

💅As my gel polish had peeled to the point of looking like a reverse french manicure (NOT cute with summer orange, lemme tell ya…I’m sure I’d stretched it beyond 3 weeks), I took all the Google research I’d conducted and plopped the most serene-sounding address into my GPS.

Shop #1

I went to the first shop because the hours were marked open online and I’d left work a bit late. When I finally found the shop (it was an adventure, trust me…think circling the same block twice because…parking…small town…yeah), there was nobody there.

I peered into the cute little empty shop and slowly walked back to my car. Incredulous, I wondered why I didn’t buy a clue when nobody answered the phone when I called from work to make an appointment.😑

Shop #2

No problem - I ventured on to the second shop (after a kind stranger looking for a food truck pointed me in the right direction because directions behooved me and I knew I was within half a mile of it). She assured me it couldn’t be seen from the main road (with the address on it…yeah, it was behind a gas station, or something. I turned into Shop #2 and was welcomed by a sleek interior - covered in plastic. They were open - YAY! - but could I come back tomorrow since they were doing construction?😵‍💫

There was no denying renovations were in progress, but I tried to tug on her heartstrings and garner some sympathy (to no avail), showing her my scraggly nails - could she at least soak off the old polish today? Negative. So my sojourn continued.

Shop #3

And the adventure continued. Because by this time, I was beginning to laugh a li’l maniacally and really missing my recent college grad daughter who was my nail shop buddy (and innately navigational, direction-giving sidekick).

I thought aloud, “This is CRAZY…gurl, take your tired self - and yo’ jacked-up nails - on home and try again tomorrow.” As I popped the third nail shop (from my Google research yielding superior reviews) into the GPS, of COURSE the song “Order My Steps” was running through my brain. 🎵

So I began to pray, “Lord, this is NOT crazy. I asked You to direct me, I believe You are guiding me, and I choose to trust You. Please lead me to the shop I need to be at.” I breathed a sigh and relaxed into the next 4 miles (since I wasn’t that far away).

When I walked in, it was the oasis I’d been seeking - clean and beautifully lit, classical music, serene atmosphere, warmly welcomed. This. Was. IT!🎉

God had led me.

Just like He promised.

He took me by a way I knew not.

“And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.”
(Isaiah 42:16, KJV)

No, I didn’t have 40 years walking around a literal wilderness (though I was starting to wonder by Shop #3).🤐

But I did have an experience with God’s mighty presence.🕊️

It was a journey filled with reminders and lessons I needed - lovingly and thoughtfully designed with intention by my Creator.

“I will lead the blind by a way they do not know;
I will guide them in paths that they do not know.
I will make darkness into light before them
And rugged places into plains.
These things I will do [for them],
And I will not leave them abandoned or undone.”
(Isaiah 42:16, AMP)

I wasn’t wandering aimlessly or left to my own devices.

My faithful Heavenly Father was ordering my steps.

“Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.”
(Psalm 119:133, KJV)

“Establish my footsteps in [the way of] Your word;
Do not let any human weakness have power over me [causing me to be separated from You].”
(Psalm 119:133, KJV)

I was redirected.

I am grateful for the gift.🎁🙌😇

Be open to being redirected.
You may be pleasantly surprised with the outcome!

“2 “Thus says the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to establish it—the Lord is His name,
3 ‘Call to Me and I will answer you, and tell you [and even show you] great and mighty things, [things which have been confined and hidden], which you do not know and understand and cannot distinguish.’”
(Jeremiah 33:2-3, AMP)

Blessings as we’re reDIRECTed for God’s glory, Kayren🛣️🚗

#100DaysUNcurated #ShowUpImperfect #WritingWithGod✒️

© Copyright 2026 by Kayren J. Cathcart