Hubby and I were adventuring to Boundary Dam. We knew nothing at all about Boundary Dam, other than it was near the boundary line between Washington State and Canada. I did no research on Boundary Dam other than look up where it was on my map app. My map app showed the road going right up to the dam and even across the top of the dam. That looks like a fun adventure. Let’s check it out.
Hubby and I drove way out into the middle of nowhere. We crossed the Pend Oreille River and headed up an off-the-beaten-path road, even further into the middle of nowhere. It was a 45-minute drive up the western side of the river to the very edge of the international border.
Obviously we must be getting close to the dam, as evidenced by all the power lines!
But lo and behold … when we finally arrived at the dam … a huge gate blocked the way.
A huge sign announced in big bold red letters that there were no dam tours being conducted.
Well, we didn’t want a tour. We had no interest in a dam tour. We just wanted to see the dam and walk across the top, like my map app had indicated.
Tentatively we pulled up to the guard shack in front of the big imposing gate. I think the bored security guard was happy to see some lost tourists show up. He probably doesn’t have much excitement, way out here in the middle of nowhere.
Hubby told the super nice security guard that we had no interest in a dam tour, we just wanted to seed the dam. “Unfortunately,” the security guard informed us, “all access to the dam has been closed since 2020. No visitors are allowed access to the dam at all.”
Bummer.
What a disappointment. Especially after we had driven 45-minutes way off the beaten path to the middle of nowhere. That would be another 45-minute drive all the way back the way we had just come.
The security guard kindly let us know that there was a nice viewpoint which had been built on the opposite side of the dam. We would need to go back the way we had just come, cross the Pend Oreille River, then drive 45-minutes again north on the other side of the river to reach the viewpoint.
He also let us know that at the viewpoint on the other side, there was also a trail leading to a viewpoint of Pee Wee Falls. Though, rather mournfully he told us that it was probably just a trickle since they had had hardly any snowfall this past winter.
Hubby and I thanked the kind security guard … we turned around … and we headed back the way we had just come.
Bummer.
We drove 45-minutes south back to the bridge across the Pend Oreille River.
We crossed the river … and began the 45-minute drive north again up the eastern side of the river.
We turned onto the small gravel road leading to the viewpoint the security guard had told us about.
Well check that out! Isn’t that pretty! That color of blue! That’s gorgeous!
And just think … we never would have seen this gorgeous little pond if we had never been stopped by a gate which blocked our way, and sent us on a re-direct this way. What a beautiful blessing we would have missed if it had not been for the dead end … and the re-direct.
Halfway down the gravel road we saw the sign for the viewpoint of Pee Wee Falls. Carefully we navigated down a precipitous, frighteningly narrow gravel road to the parking lot for the viewpoint.
We hopped out of the car and headed down the trail to see Pee Wee Falls.
Whoa! That’s way more than a trickle! That’s amazing!!
The awe and grandeur of the place was overwhelming! The air was absolutely peaceful and still … and from far across the expanse we could hear the water cascading over Pee Wee Falls. It was breathtaking!
If we had not been stopped by the gate and the guard shack, we never would have had this opportunity to see Pee Wee Falls. It is not possible to see Pee Wee Falls from the other side, unless you kayak around into that alcove and right up to the base of the falls.
What an amazing blessing we would have missed if we had not been stopped by the gate at the dead end … and sent another way on a re-direct. Thank you God for the dead end and the re-direct!
After soaking in the beauty of Pee Wee Falls, hubby and I retraced our way back across the precipitous, frighteningly narrow gravel road and over to the parking lot for the viewpoint of the dam.
We hopped out of the car and headed down the trail to see Boundary Dam. Along the path, white lady slippers were blooming! I was thrilled! I have never seen a white lady slipper blooming before! What an incredible blessing!
And just think, I never would have had this incredible blessing if it had not been for the gate and the dead end. Thank you God for the dead end and the re-direct!
Boundary Dam! Whoa! That’s amazing! Hubby and I stood on the viewing platform intrigued at the thought that right over there is where we had been stopped 1 1/2 hours earlier. Right there … right there is where we pulled up to the guard shack and were told we could go no further. Right there is where we were told we had to turn around and go all the way back the way we had just come. Right there is where we had been disappointed, 1 1/2 hours ago.
And now here we stood … with this amazing view!
If we had not been sent on the re-direct, we never would have had this amazing panoramic view. If we had been allowed to walk out on top of the dam, like we had originally wanted to do, we would have completely missed this panoramic expanse.
The view from this viewpoint was way better!
The view from this viewpoint let us see the incredible rock cliff face on the back side of the dam. We never would have been able to see this if we had walked out on top of the dam like we had originally planned to do.
The view from this viewpoint let us see the expanse of landscape stretching far away to the north into Canada. We never would have been able to see this if we had walked out on top of the dam like we had originally planned to do. All of this view would have been blocked if we had been standing on top of the dam. Our view would have been very narrow and limited.
But because of the gate which stopped us … and the re-direct, we were given the blessing of views far beyond what we could have even imagined.
This right here is what happens in life. We are “traveling down the roadway of life”, with a destination in mind of where we think God wants us to go.
But then we are stopped at a gate.
We are stopped at a “guard shack” (metaphorically speaking). And we are told that we cannot go this way to reach the destination we had planned on going to.
We are sent on a re-direct.
Bummer! What a disappointment!
What do we do when we are stopped at a dead end in life? What do we do when we are stopped by a “gate” in life which tells us we cannot go this way any longer?
God says: “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the LORD. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.'” – Isaiah 55:8-9
God further says: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'” – Jeremiah 29:11
Whenever God stops us in life with a “gate” and a “guard shack” it is because he has something better for us. The dead end is not the end. It’s only a re-direct to blessings God has waiting for us, which we know nothing about.
“He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be the glory.” – Ephesians 3:20-21
To be sure, in the moment a dead end doesn’t seem like it leads to something good. It was not fun to have to turn around at the gate. It was not fun to have to drive away from the guard shack in humble submission of what had been told to us.
It was not fun to re-trace our path 45-minutes south again, re-cross the river again, and drive north again for 45 more minutes. We couldn’t see the “good” in any of it in the moment.
But once we arrived at the destination then the “good” was totally obvious! There was so much “good” which we had no idea was there! So many blessings we would have completely missed.
So it is the same in life. We can’t see the “good” in the moment when we are stopped at a dead end. We can’t see the “good” in the moment when we are being re-directed.
It’s only in hindsight … as we look back … that we are able to see all the blessings that came about as a result of the dead end and the re-direct.
God is good. He had good plans for us. We need to trust him … even in the dead ends, and the re-directs.
