God allows U-turns!

Ya know, I just don't understand people. When I was little, I can remember my grandmother slamming the "ice box" door and telling me "no, i could not have anymore grape juice." I cried, through a tantrum, but she said, "I said no, and I'm not going to change my mind." However, I kept trying....begging, pleading, all the while she said "no" and she finally, set my glass of water on the table and went to watch TV. Might sound mean, but hell, I had already drank a whole can of that stuff. Finally, I sat down at the table and stopped crying. My grandmother was watching the news in the living room, and Susan got a sneeky thought. Dump out the water, pour the grape juice in the water glass, and run outside with it.....she would never know I got the grape juice. Well, I did it, but the grape juice just didn't taste as good as I had remembered. Could guilt, disobediance, selfishness be the cause of the bad taste? I think yes, it probably was. As an adult, I've learned to listen to God when he speaks to me. If he says 'NO", I say okay. Oh, don't think I have always listened. I had to learn the hard way, and I paid a heavy price for going against God's will for my life. Garth Brooks wrote a very poignont song entitled "Thank God for Unanswered Prayers." Sometimes our unanswered prayers saves us from years of pain. Sometimes we think we want something....we have to have it....even if God says no, we sneek it anyway, we continue down that road that God has blocked. We go around the barriers, and the road is marred with pain, depression, guilt, etc., but for some reason, some people continue to head down that road even after they realize they went down the wrong road. They are embarrassed, they keep trying to prove they are right, they are determine it will work out somehow, and before you know it...they have spent years (and for some, a lifetime) struggling down a road that was never meant to be, when all they had to do was admit they were wrong and make a U-turn. God does allow U-turns. Unfortunately, sometimes those of us who have learned that lesson can see the mistake others are making. We try to stop them, show them the right way, offer help, guidance, but in the end, it is their decision. Then, we have to sit back and watch those we love, struggle until they too, learn that when God says no, he is not going to change his mind. If we disobey him, we are in for a long and painful road until it ends, or we admit we made the wrong decision, ask for forgiveness, and make a U-turn. You still have to pay for not listening, but in the end you are a better person. As a mother, I have spent 30 years guiding my children. If only they would listen. Mom does know a thing or two about life; however, I'm powerless now that they are older. All I can do is tell them they are headed down the wrong road, but in the end, it is their decision. I'm afraid, as parents, we have failed to allow Generation X and Y learn these lessons early. I see a whole generation making mistakes, but refusing to admit they are wrong. All I can do is pray, thats all. I'm just ready for them to be all grown up. I hope I live long enough to see it....LOL.