Rascal Flatts sings the song, "Life is a highway."

And he hits the nail on the head.

Driving on a highway and life is pretty darn similar if you think about it.

We enter both of them with a long list of unrealistic expectations. We expect nothing to go wrong. We expect our plans to take us to our planned destination without any troubles along the way, and in the amount of time, we want.

We expect everything to always work in our favor and for there to never be a roadblock. We never anticipate a change in our plans. And we never ever plan for hard times.

We would love for everything to always go as planned and for nothing bad to ever happen to us or those we love - that would be ideal. But this is a real life that's just not how it rolls.

Sometimes the road is really long. Sometimes it's rough and bumpy. Sometimes you get hit by someone (or you hit something) Sometimes there's traffic that slows you down and makes you late. Sometimes you blow up and/or break down.

Sometimes you take the wrong exit. Sometimes you have to take detours. Sometimes you don't know where you're going. And sometimes you just get really off track and lost.

Life throws us roadblocks, traffic, wrecks, breakdowns, detours and bad directions all too often, and we can never anticipate them or prepare ourselves for them to happen.

Maybe you didn't get into your dream college. Maybe you hate the college/major you wanted so badly to love. Maybe you are failing a class for the first time. Maybe your college experience is far from what you dreamed of.Maybe you are a senior whose plans for post-graduation aren't lining up. Or maybe you dropped out of college because the pressure was too much or another situation arose.

Maybe you screwed up the job interview for your dream job. Maybe you just got fired from your dream job. Or maybe you don't even know what your dream job is anymore.

Maybe you don't know how you're going to pay the bills this month. Maybe your dream home is being foreclosed on. Maybe you don't know where your next meal is going to come from.

Maybe your boyfriend/girlfriend just broke your heart and shattered every dream and plan you had made. Maybe you thought you would be married by now and you feel like no one wants you because of it. Or maybe you're in the midst of a broken or abusive marriage.

Maybe you can't have the baby you so desperately long for.

Maybe you have a child who's fighting for their life. Maybe you are standing by a spouse in sickness. Or maybe you, yourself sat across from a doctor who spoke a 6 letter 'C' word into your ears.

Maybe you're about to or have recently lost a grandparent/parent/aunt/uncle/cousin, who you never imagined living without. Maybe you have recently lost a child/foster child. Maybe someone you love was just stolen from this world tragically.

Maybe someone you love is behind bars.

Maybe you made a mistake and it's haunting every second of every day. Maybe you are fighting an addiction you were sure you would deal with. Maybe depression has stolen every ounce of your joy

Maybe there is something else, unlisted that has wrecked you or sent you in an unknown direction.

Oftentimes, these are the things on the road we didn't see coming. They're like deer, they come out of nowhere and suddenly they're in front of our headlights and we have no time to react.

No one likes to fail. No one likes to wait. No one likes to change paths. And no one, I mean no one, likes to suffer.

I don't know what the road looks like for you. I haven't seen the miles you've driven, the days you've waited, the detours you've made or the curves you've turned.

Maybe your road trip through life has been really unfair. Maybe you've had more roadblocks and detours than all of your friends put together. Maybe it feels like the harder you try, the worse conditions get for you. Maybe you've even thought about giving it all up.

But please please please don't. give. up.

Life might really suck right now. Your life might feel totaled, wrecked beyond even fixing. But believe me, when I say, you ARE not beyond fixable. No matter what you look like, no matter what you feel like, no matter what you have been through and no matter what you have done, you. are. still. worth. so. much. And whether you believe it or not, there is a God who loves you and thinks your worth is literally to die for.

He wants the best for you. He loves you and he has a plan for your life. A plan far better than the one in your GPS. You may not understand now, but you will.

The road to your destination will probably not be as you have planned, it will consist of hard times (which will make you stronger) and it will seem impossible at times. But there is a light at the end. So don't you dare give up.

Cry. Mourn. Scream. Eat a gallon of ice cream. Do whatever is you need to do, then get back up! Wipe away the tears, the disappointment, the dirt and the fear.

Your plans might not go as planned, but only because your plans aren't good enough for you.

There are better days coming my friend.
