I took the long way home Tonight

I took the long way home tonight.
Past my first cigarette, past my first drink, past the place where I first snuck out.
I drove slowly past the canal where I had my first kiss behind an old house.
I drove past the place where I snuck through a cut fence to run away from the cops that were chasing us. I went past the place where I hiked with my past boyfriends.

 And in a neighborhood nearby,
 where I had my first love.
The street that I look towards
every time I drive by.

I took the long way home tonight. I watched and saw as my childhood flew by.

A friend asked me today why I became Mormon so fast. How I knew, How I changed "just like that".
I could say it was the immediate comfort, the overwhelming Spirit that testified of truth. That God's confirming spirit, showed me that this was His way.

But the truth is, it wasn't that moment that changed everything.
It was everything else, everything before, that prepared me for that exact moment.

It was my first communion in my second grade.
 It was my first real job, at McDonald's.
 It was the first time the cops caught me, outside some motel,
 where they called my parents for them to take me home.

That first time that I ran away, that I hitch-hiked,
in hopes that I may.
just get away from all that troubled me,
I thought it would be my solution, you see.

I took the long way home tonight. I reflected on all that has all gone past.
I realized that through hurts through pain,
through feelings of mine that felt so slain.
I realized that through tears and joy,
with friends, families, girls, and boy,

That I've done it,
I've made it 19 years and more,
and I've got so much more of this world
to explore.

I'll have this year, for my 19,
then next year for 20,
then 21, 22, 23, 24,
The years will just increase to more.

It wasn't just in that moment of Prayer,
that God showed me his plan,
that He showed me He was there.

It was all the moments combined before,
And all the coming moments more.

I took the long way home tonight.
And to me, it felt quite Alright.