God Bless the Winding Road

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -- I took the one less traveled by,

and that has made all the difference.” -Robert Frost

The winding road along the Croatian Coast, near Bosnia

One year ago, I would’ve never guessed I’d be where I am today.

This week, our family has been vacationing for our kids’ Spring Break from school at the shore. Not at the coast of Florida, or South Texas, or California, but in the extreme south of coastal Croatia.

As recent as a year ago, I could’ve never imagined I’d be standing in Croatia. My husband and I were hopeful at some point, on some year, he’d be offered a position with his company overseas, but we could not have imagined where that road we hoped for would take us. Only a few months later, we were selling our home and cars, packing up our family, and moving across the ocean to Prague.

It’s funny, as we dare to listen to our hopes and dreams, we naturally tense up from fear. None of us knows exactly what tomorrow will bring. Or the next moment. And it leaves us with the choice: to become paralyzed with fear, or to embrace the winding road and whatever it may bring.

Krka, Croatia

To open ourselves up to possibility is to open ourselves up to receive the blessings …

When we’re on the winding road pointing toward bigger dreams, we can’t see what lies around the next bend, past the next corner, beyond the coming hills and mountains and challenges and peaks. Daring to follow the challenging course, the one that stretches us and brings us closer to who we hope to become, can be scary. But if we can let go of the fear of the unknown and simply let ourselves trust, we can find the exhilaration and untapped joy beyond any we’ve ever imagined.

the extraordinary blues from our little gem along the Adriatic

Today, as the sun set over the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia, I saw a sunset like no other I’ve ever seen in my life. Lush mountains spilled down into the azure water of the Adriatic Sea. Three lighthouses perched among rocky islands began their blinking for the night. And the setting sun streamed tangerine light across a glittering bay. Unforgettable.

Tomorrow, we leave for home, Prague, our expat home away the USA. As we wind around the curving roads leading up and through the mountains of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Slovakia, and Czech, and again, we’ll embrace the possibility lying just beyond the bend … God bless the winding road.

Starting the Conversation: Where have your winding roads taking you? What amazing possibilities have opened up as a result from your choice-- being open and taking the winding road?