THE WINDING ROAD...

By: Megan Chewning

THE WINDING ROAD…

If you are heading to Ozello, it is easy to miss your turn. Small signs, road construction and a busy State Road 19 makes for plenty of distraction. Once we turned on the road, it felt like it was going nowhere at first. Besides a few houses and a small water treatment plant, there was not much to look at. The road has some sharp turns and is very narrow. When we first visited Ozello, I was a bit confused. I was told about this beautiful, picturesque Florida scenery and all I saw were trees and a curvy road. After a few miles, you start to see life again with beautiful marsh land, old Florida style homes, a community center, a church, and the Ozello water tower. Our first time there, we visited late at night. We stopped by Peck’s Old Port Cove Restaurant to eat and headed to the Community Boat Ramp to get a few hours of sleep before heading out to our destination in North Florida. Since we got there after dark and left early in the morning, we did not get to see much.

During our recent stay at Ozello Keys Marina, we decided to go on a bike ride, in the middle of the day….not exactly the best time to go on a hot day in the Florida sun. We wanted to explore more since we did not have that chance during our first spontaneous trip. Starting off, we saw this lovely little community as we were right by the “downtown” area of Ozello. We took a detour to visit Fishcreek Boat Ramp, but found out it was under construction once we arrived. On the way, we admired the houses mixed right into the gorgeous nature. Many parts

surrounding the homes are still untouched by man. As we headed back down the Ozello Trail, it seemed like hours before we reached anything. The sun was beating down on us, there wasn’t much wind blowing and my legs were starting to feel like jello. We passed by a few houses tucked back into the trees off the main road and miles of marshland but very little wildlife. Many of the turns became a bit more sharp and there was a feeling that this road was never going to end, even though I knew from our trip before that it did. Riding our bicycles in that hot sun with little to no breeze, made me just want to turn back to what was familiar to me at the time, our camper and boat at the marina.

Finally, we saw Peck’s, so I pulled into the gravel parking lot to get a little shade and some water. Captain Ben kept riding his bike to the bridge which was only about 25 feet away from my comforting shade. After looking for me, he came over to tell me all about the 40+ inch Snook he just saw, swimming in the waters on the culvert. I could not believe it at first so I got the strength to get back on the bike and ride over to the bridge. I was awestruck by the beauty. What a sight to see! Countless fish just over the edge, dolphins playing not too far off, and the bluest, clearest waters as far as the eye could see. I felt like I was back in the Florida Keys except this time it did not take me hours in traffic to get to. It was just a short bicycle ride away. I sat there thinking about how close that bridge was when I pulled into that gravel parking lot. My quick detour to

the shade made me more exhausted since I was trying to ride on a gravel parking lot. Had I stayed on the paved trail, I would have enjoyed the destination much sooner and not worked so hard to get there. The view from that bridge was well worth the heat and winding roads to see.

In life, we often feel like quitting on the journey because we cannot see the beautiful ending. If God showed us where we would end up but how difficult it would be to get there, would we still take the path He is directing us to? Even on that path that we know is God ordained, how many detours of our own do we take that leads to dead ends or gravel parking lots?

In today’s instant gratification world, we tend to take for granted the journey. It is in the difficult times, those narrow turns and hot days, that forms our character. We gain strength, grit, wisdom, and courage on those winding roads. If we just stay on His path for us, as difficult as it may be, He will give us that strength to go on. Whereas when we detour thinking we know best, we are relying on our own strength which many times fails us. One of the most famous verses in the Bible is Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT) where God tells us that He has plans for good, not disaster, to give us a future and a hope. Instead of turning around, giving up, or taking our own detours, let’s trust the path God has given us, knowing He has something beautiful in store for us if we just press on.

56 BETTER OFF WET | JULY 2022