One afternoon I was taking a cab uptown with my husband, Zach, for a meeting. In the cab we had a petty argument about something meaningless. The argument was ridiculous but it triggered each of us in such a way that we couldn’t let it go.

Unfortunately, this pettiness had become the norm. We’d been fighting about silly things for several months and we couldn’t seem to find a way out of the pattern. While I deeply wanted to be “right” in these situations, I also wanted to be happy.

So after a few minutes of bickering, my inner wisdom snuck in with guidance. I heard, “Pray for healing and resolution.” I invited in love. I said to myself, “Thank you for reorganizing this for me and helping me let go of the littleness.” I felt my husband’s energy lighten.

After our meeting, Zach and I headed to the elevator to leave the building. The elevator door opened and I said, “Wait, I have to ask one more question.” I ran back to the office, got my question answered, and returned to the elevator. We headed down seventeen flights and landed on what we thought was the ground floor. We waited a moment but the elevator door didn’t open. We quickly realized we were stuck! This was the second time in a year that I’d been stuck in an elevator, so I began freaking out. Remembering that my husband was claustrophobic, my fear multiplied. The first few minutes of being stuck felt like an hour. We were sweating, peeling off layers of clothes and pacing back and forth while trying to communicate with the building manager through the elevator emergency phone. The building manager kept saying the repairman was on his way. In New York City, though, you can be “on the way” without being close. For all we knew the repairman might have to contend with an hour’s worth of traffic. We were stuck with no clue as to when we’d get out.

About ten minutes into the experience I heard my inner voice again. The voice of wisdom said to me, “Zach is going to freak out. You must be the light!” I got the message loud and clear and redirected my focus onto my husband. I started tickling his back, rubbing his ears, and talking to him about all the things he’s interested in. I asked him about how he wanted to redo the kitchen in our new house. I was giving him love, focus and attention. In this moment stuck in the elevator, my focus was redirected on what truly mattered: my connection to my husband. And it worked! Twenty more minutes went by and Zach was staying calm. His claustrophobia hadn’t gotten the best of him — rather, he was at peace.

But around the forty-five minute mark I began to get antsy. Instead of flipping out, I said a loud prayer: “Universe, we need your help! We’re ready to get out of here.” Within minutes we heard the repairman working on the door. Soon after the door opened and we saw we were stuck between the first and second floors. We gathered our stuff and jumped out of the elevator into a crowded lobby filled with people returning from lunch. We were relieved to be out. My husband looked at his cell phone and the time was 1:11 p.m. We gasped with delight knowing that the number one in sequence is a sign that the Universe is guiding you. Doreen Virtue, the author and medium, says that when you see the number one in sequence it means there’s guidance around you.

With this experience the Universe offered us a beautiful spiritual assignment, a gentle reminder that obstacles are detours in the right direction.

Though it may seem like a nightmare to be stuck in an elevator with your claustrophobic husband for almost an hour, in truth it was a blessing. In the cab I prayed for a miracle to get out of our cycle of petty arguments and reconnect with my husband. And on that day the Universe locked us in the elevator until we could restore our connection and love.

When you ask for guidance, the Universe may throw you a curveball. Sometimes divine lessons come in odd forms. In our case, being stuck in that elevator helped me let go of all the littleness and restore my thoughts back to love and my energy back toward my husband. When everything was removed we could realign with what is true, which is love.

This story reminds us that every situation can be seen as a powerful opportunity to allow the Universe to redirect our path. When we ask for miracles and surrender control to the Universe, we realign with the energy of love. Then our loving consciousness expands and we become receptive to guidance that may be far different from our own plan.

Our only job is to trust that whatever we’ve been guided toward is exactly the direction we need. Even situations that appear to be obstacles are actually opportunities — detours in the right direction.

Always trust the direction of the Universe and know you’re being guided toward love. @GabbyBernstein (Click to Tweet!)

My book The Universe Has Your Back: Transform Fear to Faith comes is out now! To celebrate I’m offering an incredible bonus. When you order the book you can get my brand new 5 hour online course for free! Check out all the details here: www.gabbybernstein.com/newbook.

Gabrielle Bernstein has been named “a new thought leader” by Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday. She appears regularly as an expert on The Dr. Oz Show, and was named “a new role model” by the New York Times. Gabrielle is the New York Times best-selling author of the books May Cause Miracles and Miracles Now. Her other titles include Add More ~ing to Your Life and Spirit Junkie. In the fall of 2016 she will release her fifth book, The Universe Has Your Back. Gabrielle teamed up with Deepak Chopra to co-host the Guinness Book of World Records largest group meditation. The Oprah Winfrey Network chose Gabrielle to be part of the “Super Soul 100” list, a dynamic group of 100 trailblazers whose vision and life’s work are bringing a higher level of consciousness to the world. or more on Gabrielle’s work visit GabbyBernstein.com.

Image courtesy of Chloe Crespi.