For all the words in my vocabulary, never heard of that hefty “a” one until it popped up on the Merriam-Webster Word for the day.
A bit of trivia. Anfractuous has been around for centuries, which doesn’t mean you can plan on seeing or hearing it in your daily reading and viewing anytime soon. [Maybe a good thing.] Literary journals and game shows seem the best place to encounter this meaty mouthful.
So, what is the definition of anfractuous? Full of winding and intricate turnings. Now that, fellow sojourner, is what caught my attention.
Ever felt your day-to-day life fits that description? I know I have. Things go up, down, around, over, and under. Sometimes events and experiences make sense. On other occasions, about all I can do is hang on and pray for the best.
And yet, do you know anyone whose journey hasn’t been one of winding and intricate turnings? We plan, we schedule, we do our best to get all our ducks in a row. And then they aren’t. The weather, the neighbor, the politician, the doctor, the spouse, the child—any and all with ideas of their own turn our world upside down. Or, in this case, make our heads spin as we try to stay on the path in front of us.
What are we to do then, when the often sudden winding or turning appears in front of us?
Let go of expectations. Now this is something I have to remind myself of on a regular basis. It’s so easy to fall into the trap of ‘expecting’ each day to go as we plan. While it is wisdom to hope, that is not the same as harboring an expectation. Hope is a light on the path. Expectations are crevices and rocks that can knock us off our feet.
Take a deep breath, or several. Can’t emphasize this practice too much. Because we can’t see that far down the path in front of us, a new curve or turn can disorient and confuse. The mystics [Jesus included], philosophers, even self-help gurus tout the benefits of taking a few moments, or more, to calm our racing hearts and thoughts.
Pull off the road if necessary. This reminds me of several experiences over the years when my beloved and I would encounter inclement weather conditions on the highway. Amid a torrential rain or lightning storm, the best choice we could make was to find a safe place to pull off the road and wait until the deluge stopped. And if that wasn’t possible, reduce our speed to a crawl [even if others whizzed by with a damn-the-torpedo attitude] to help assure we would get through the storm, shaken maybe, but with no harm to others or ourselves. When we take a little time away from a unpleasant situation, we are better equipped to continue the journey when the storm has passed.
Resist the temptation to take a detour. If the highway in front of you is washed out, you probably have little choice but to turn around and retrace your steps. On the other hand, how many times do we get a glimpse of another path and immediately decide to take it with little prayer or discernment? We rationalize that these ‘detours’ look interesting for a variety of reasons. When in the end, all they do is take us down a winding and turning road that was more challenging and difficult than the one we chose to abandon.
Seek counsel from a few wise family members or friends. Key word—few. Too many counselors and we can find ourselves in a mess of confusion. However, one or two people with a proven track record of support, encouragement, and insight can make all the difference. I’ve lost track of the times when I struggled to stay on the path amid the winding and turning and a word of love and compassion helped me relax so I could discover the next step I needed to take.
Savor the flat spaces between the winds and turns. Another word for this—gratitude. When we take time to be grateful and thankful for the quieter moments between the ups and downs, the under and the over, we allow ourselves to be refreshed and restored for what might be ahead. When we combine our sense of gratitude for the present peace with our willingness to put our faith and trust in the Divine, we open our hearts to receive the blessings that come with knowing God is the blessed controller of all things. He will never abandon or forsake us. Do we really believe that promise?
Every journey is unique. The last thing we need to do is get into the sin of comparison. “My journey is windier than yours. What do you know about twists and turns? Well, if only they would have made a different choice.” All of those are judgments and murmurings encouraged by the enemy of our human nature that can—and will—incite division and separation. Surely, we have too much of that already.
So, how is your anfractuous journey of life going these days? My prayer and hope is that each of us find God, and be found by Him, in all moments of our days.
What winding or intricate turning have I recently encountered in my journey?
How do I feel when the path seems nothing but winds and turns?
What do I need from God to help me through the tough stuff?
