My Detour

By M. L. Petties

A young single mother in search of purpose and escaping her psychotic ex decides to pack up and move to a different state. After a couple of years pass by, she discovers that things are actually worse than before. Along this journey, she discovers this is her detour, and she then makes every effort to get back on the right path in God's will for her life. Through prayer and faith, God delivers the young mother, and she never looks back, except to give God praise and glory.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 11, 2021
• ISBN: 9781098056445

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My Detour

M. L. Petties

Copyright © 2020 by M. L. Petties

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

The Meeting

The Beginning

God-sent Angel

Writing becomes Habit

Circle of Friends

Getaway Weekend

Modeling

Repent and Encourage Yourself

Maturity

Looking Back

Watch the Cook

Always Watching

My Circle

My Beautician

Finally Acted Out

Sever Ties

Lot or Edith?

Free

New Beginnings

Family

Sinking

Sherman

Getting on Track

Grandad Spoke It

Back Down

The Return

Grandma

Joyce Meyer

End of Detour?

Chapter 1

The Meeting

In the hot summer of July 2008, driving with my youngest son, I stopped at a local gas station before returning home. There was a guy pulling up beside me as I opened my door to get back into my car. He struck up a quick conversation after speaking to me, definitely showing interest in me. I was rushing off because I wasn’t interested. I accepted his telephone number and quickly left the scene. He asked me to call him soon since he was only in town for a weekend, attending his family’s reunion in a nearby town. The nearby town was only twenty minutes away.

I had just ended a relationship because reality hit me, my ex-boyfriend wasn’t interested in my children but only me. I knew not to get involved with him because we’d been friends for years, but I still really didn’t know him. So, anyway, after Randy, my ex-boyfriend, I didn’t want to date or even communicate that summer regarding a relationship. I was raised in the church and attended weekly. I always had a decent job, but those things only temporarily helped since I was still in need of something deeper. This guy at the station was older and it was obvious. His name was Don. Don asked me in that very brief first conversation to look him up online.

I didn’t contact him that day, but I looked him up online. We chatted online and learned the basics about each other. He was sweet, considerate, and we seemed to have most of the same interests. We also were both born on August, the hottest and sweetest month of the whole year. I explained that a couple of my friends and I had a girls’ night out Saturday, and that I just wasn’t up for seeing him before he left town on Sunday. All I wanted to do was go home and sleep. I decided to text message him instead of calling. I thought, What could it hurt? He lives all the way in Indiana. Since I lived in Tennessee, I thought Indiana wasn’t that far, but far enough to keep from seeing each other sooner than I was ready and willing. After several days of getting nowhere with me, he’d finally given up on dating me. My mind was still made up that it was too soon to date or even consider it.

I continued my life with my three children and routine schedule. Three months passed by, and Don began text messaging again. I was curious about the sudden interest again. He told me he still thought I was so special to him, and he didn’t want to date anyone else. He was also giving me time to get over Randy, who didn’t have any kids but was too selfish to realize I was a package deal. I was okay by then and had buried Randy and the break up under all my goals and daily tasks.

Conversation with Don picked up exactly where it had left off. Cellphone calls and texts became normal. Don told me about his ex-wife and two children. He has brothers and sisters, and they and his mother all live in the same city in Indiana not far from him. Don worked third shift unpacking computers and enjoyed it. Some nights I couldn’t sleep; he was good company because he was always awake and just a phone call away. I could hear him ripping boxes and tape going, so I would normally text because of all the noise.

I was still very curious about the side of him that I hadn’t met, so I decided to remain in the friend zone. Don, like myself, was outgoing, seemed to be a great parent, and loved to laugh. We literally stayed on the phone throughout President Obama’s entire first election. I was never into politics, but this debate I couldn’t miss for the world! By the time the holidays rolled around, Don was traveling weekends to visit me. He rented hotels, but I never stayed there overnight, and I always took my children so I’d never be tempted to stay long. We met at restaurants, the mall, and anywhere else where it was crowded and public.

There was a carnival in Tennessee, and Don wanted me to go with him to meet some of his family there. I wasn’t interested in the carnival this particular weekend, but I love funnel cakes. Don took me to the carnival just so he could buy me one. He was doing all he could every visit to try to show me we belonged together. He bought a gorgeous dress and heels before he even left Indiana and brought it this same weekend just for me. I love wearing heels and high-heeled boots. Don was a great listener, I learned very quickly. Don was tall and slender. He was the only guy I had ever dated with dreadlocks. He dressed normally and kept himself clean and wore clean tennis shoes. He wasn’t much into fashion, but he bought me the hottest dresses and shoes. Things began moving quickly, so I inquired about his relationship with God. He told me he didn’t attend church anywhere but was waiting on the right woman to take him. In my mind, I’m thinking that if I attend, he will too. Wisdom teaches me now that if a man isn’t already chasing after God, then he absolutely has no reason to be chasing after me.

I remember my first sign of actually making Don upset with me. He wanted to know why I had never invited him to my home. What was the big secret? There was no secret, but I just wasn’t ready for that next step. I now realize that was a flag! He kept his cool but expressed how awful he thought the whole idea was to him. In the meanwhile, I was still seeking something deeper and not finding happiness anywhere, outside or within. The gifts were lovely, but they didn’t suffice. I moved out of my mother’s house at age seventeen, so I had no problem taking care of myself or buying myself gifts. I have always loved traveling, so being single again helped traveling become an every-weekend ordeal, and I was thinking about moving to Atlanta.

Chapter 2

The Beginning

In 2008, I was still trying to run away from my problems. I learned the guy before Randy wasn’t into just women but also girls. All I could think of was getting out of Tennessee. I chose Atlanta, but that wasn’t happening fast enough for me. Don wanted me in his life; he told me it didn’t matter where I lived as long as I didn’t exclude him from the picture. So Dirt’s relatives taught him witchcraft. I didn’t believe it until my own relative caught him coming out of my backyard with my personal 8 × 10 photo still framed off my living room wall. I was upset with myself because I never thought witches were real or that I would ever be under any kind of spell. So I thought, Naïve, Miranda.

So my Atlanta move wasn’t happening fast enough and my lease was ending in December. Quite naturally, I chose Indiana to try escaping the daily self-torture of reliving the past mentally. I was unaware of the wiles of the devil at the time. I was traveling to Indiana during the weekends.

I let Don come to my home, finally. I had one relative in the same city as Don, so that kind of helped because I could possibly still have some girl time. There wasn’t a job that I couldn’t do or hadn’t tried, so finding work was never an issue. Don showed me where everything was located. I found my own town home, and it was near two shopping malls, a great hairdresser, and great schools