I'm not normally the woman who would go out of her way to take new roads when it comes to traveling. I have specific routes in mind and I do my best to stick to them. If I'm going somewhere I've never been, I'll use my GPS and trust that it will get me where I am going. I don't like to go anywhere without a plan of how to safely get to the destination. So why did I take a different route last Friday night?

I was spending time at my sister's house, getting things ready for a joint shower that was thrown for me and another expectant sister. Kyle was working until 8 PM and I thought I would be home by then, but plans changed so I decided to stay at my sister's house until it was time for Kyle's soccer game. The location of his game was closer to my sister's house than home was, so it made more sense for me to just meet him there. His game wasn't until 11:25 anyway, so I had plenty of time to finish helping with some last minute tasks.

Around 10:55, I started getting things ready to go so that I would be on time for Kyle's game. By about 11:10, I was heading out the door and off to watch him play. As I was driving down the freeway, I contemplated which path would be best to take in order to get me to my destination on time. If I had been coming from the south, like usual, I knew I should get off at a certain exit and the path was clear from there. This time, I was coming from the north and I wondered if I could take the exit before the known exit, in order to not back-track. I thought about using my phone to help me get there, but I didn't have time to pull off and input the address. As I approached the exit I contemplated taking, I had a feeling I should just go the way I knew. The path I had been on so many times and the road that I knew so well. I fought with myself for a few seconds before deciding that my anxious feelings were silly. I knew there was a road that would get me to the indoor arena, I just had to find it.

I decided to take the freeway exit that I hadn't taken before. I started off toward the general vicinity of the arena and turned on my brights to help me have better visibility on the back roads. As other cars approached in the opposite direction, I'd turn my lights down and keep a close eye on the road. Soon enough, I was coming up on an intersection between a freeway over-pass and the parallel road that I was on. I couldn't tell if I had to stop or not, so I began pressing the brakes lightly to slow down the Jeep. Once I got close enough, I realized I didn't have to stop so I went on through. There was a slight bend in the road to the right, and I could see the lights on the arena. I knew I was close and that I had taken the right road.

Then, I saw the red and blue flashing lights in my rear-view mirror.

"Crap." I said to myself while I turned on my blinker and slowed down to pull off. I wasn't speeding, was I? I don't think so. I wasn't using my cell phone. Did I have a tail light out? Did our registration stickers fall off the license plate? I was running through a myriad of explanations as to why this officer was pulling me over. I didn't think I had done anything wrong.

In anticipation of him approaching my vehicle, I pulled out my ID. I was about to get the registration papers out of the glove compartment when I saw a flashlight coming toward me. He aimed it in the back seat, then at me as he got to the driver's door.

"Have you been drinking tonight?"

What? That's why I got pulled over? Was I swerving? Was I driving impaired? I don't think so.. Why would he ask that??

"No, I'm just trying to find my husband's soccer game." I replied. I'm very obviously pregnant, why would I be drinking? I've never had a drink in my life!

"You slowed down at the intersection back there. Normally, the only people that do that are drunk, high, or lost."

I assured the officer that I was the latter. I had not been drinking, I was not high, I was just a little lost. I explained to him that I had never taken this route before and I was just trying to get to my husband's game. The officer pointed out the building up ahead and let me know that it was probably the place I was looking for. Although I had figured that out as I came around the bend, I thanked him.

"I'll let you go. You drive safe though, and have a good night."

He let me go. I hadn't done anything wrong, I just slowed down at an intersection that I had never been to before. I wasn't drunk. I wasn't high. I didn't have a tail light out. Our registration was fine. Yet, because I took the exit that I did, I got pulled over. I am almost certain that if I had just taken the path I knew, I would not have been pulled over. I would have arrived at Kyle's game 5 minutes sooner than I did. I would have never even seen the officer. I didn't listen to that little inkling I had. Instead, I was prideful. I told myself I could get to Kyle's game on the new road. It would be easy. Nothing could go wrong.

Kyle and I are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. That being said, I have a strong testimony and belief that when those little inklings/feelings come, it's our Heavenly Father acting through the Holy Ghost, trying to warn us of dangers or encourage us toward something good. In this case, I got that little feeling. I felt that taking the new road was not what I should be doing, yet I did it anyway. In turn, I got pulled over.

Could things have been worse? Yes. Getting pulled over isn't such a big deal. This whole ordeal was just a reminder to me that sometimes we're safer taking the paths we know. Sometimes, it's better to stick to the routine and not wander from the trodden path. While I agree that the opposite can be true as well, that taking a new road can lead to happiness and joy, that is a topic for another day. Today, I believe that if I had heeded the caution of the Holy Ghost and just gone the way I was used to, I wouldn't have been pulled over. This time, it was just that. Who knows what could have happened though. I could have been lost and unsure how to get to Kyle's game. I could have been in a car accident. I could have taken the wrong way and been very late to the game. There's plenty of "could have"'s and "should have"'s.

The lesson I learned is that it's okay to stay with the same old routine. It's perfectly fine to stick to what you know. It's completely acceptable to trust your prior knowledge and avoid taking on new challenges. Should I always do that? No. I believe that new experiences lead to growth and development. I believe that there is a reason for the feelings we have either way. If I feel that I need to try a new thing, I'll trust that I can do it and I go for it! In the future, if I get a feeling to maybe just follow my instincts, I will be more cautious and willing to trust that feeling.

Sometimes, the road less traveled is less traveled for a reason. Sometimes, it's best to take the road that everybody else is taking. I know that now. I understand that now. I will pay more attention to these principles now. Getting pulled over is minimal in comparison to everything that could have happened. It was a sign enough for me, though, that this time, I should have stuck with the path I knew.