If I get off track, can I find my way back?
Yes, but back is not where I’m going.
Okay, but will the wrong road get me there?
No, but by it you I can still find the right one.
I learned these things again lately in England. Anne and I were there traveling around. Sometimes around and around and around—if you know anything about those round-abouts. Happily we had the use of a GPS (Global Positioning System), an ingenious devise of our times to keep us from ever getting lost again. In England it’s called a Sat Nav, for Satellite Navigator. And being in England, the automated voice was one with a delightful English accent. We came to refer to it has “her” and considered her our friend, and sometimes savior.
Once, on that first experience we selected “most direct route” thinking that made more sense than, say, “fastest route.” Following the map on the little screen and the pleasant woman’s voice, we found ourselves on a hedge-lined “road” about the width of a driveway to a single car garage. And it was a two-lane road! Actually, parts of England are full of these but we didn’t know it yet. Having no choice anyway, we went along for the adventure of it all and were delighted, and even surprised, when in time we were emptied out onto wide streets of the town we were seeking. That’s when the little device really earned our trust.
Earlier, however, we were on another road and encountered repair work, preventing forward progress. We turned back. The lady in the box kept coaxing us to turn around at the earliest convenience. We protested, but she was adamant, so we turned the device off and started asking directions. That’s when the adventure really increased. People didn’t recognize the name of the place we were looking for (or maybe us, with our American accent); one would suggest one thing and another another. Finally, just to try it again, we turned the GPS back on and started receiving directions again. We followed them, albeit sometimes over wagon paths and through deep shady hollows. We eventually came out to light of day, and, WOW, our destination!
I was slowly beginning to realize that this guidance from the sky knew things I didn’t know. By our first programming it in, it knew where we were trying to go, where we were, and had various options to get us there. And if we got confused, took a wrong turn, and couldn’t retrace our steps, it knew how to direct us, even now from this new starting place.
It’s something I’ve learned more than once, and I suppose will keep learning. I get off on the wrong road, make less-than-wise decisions, even lose track of where I was going. But the damage isn’t permanent. It may not even be damage. My route may be slower, but it may be more scenic. It may be frustrating, but it may contain more learning.
I have a GPS wherever I go. And I don’t even carry a unit. Of course I substitute the first initial for a different “G” word.
The guidance comes from the sky.
It knows where I’m going.
And it has a way—various ways—to get me there.
All I have to do is trust.
_________
Next: Gobbledygook and e-mail disclaimers, coming Friday.
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Our Lives Together
Its About Life
11:30 am
There’s a verse in Proverbs that says, “Acknowledge me in all your ways, and I will make your paths straight.” I infer from this verse that my paths are not straight to begin with, and that I’m always searching for ways to make sense of where I’m going in life. God’s directives always require a choice/action component, it seems. One has to turn on the GPS and follow the voice in order for guidance to follow. As I acknowledge God’s involvement in my ways, however frustrating, painful, or confusing, he is committed to direct me to his sure goal… which is always for my joy, delight, and good. Great analogy, Hyatt!
3:08 pm
I have to share a funny experience while we were living in England. We had friends from Long Beach visiting, and Ed volunteered to take them to Heathrow so off they went. Eventually Ed found his way home, only to find our friends standing on our doorstep. They had missed their flight, and taken a taxi back to our place, beating Ed. They didn’t have GPS units in those days, but we sure value them now.
3:39 pm
Life with our Gps is a faithful adventure… and tho’ there may missteps, wrong turns & rabbit trails, yet the destination is sure.
Thanks for yet another excellent post, Hyatt!
5:16 pm
Sometimes (often) I need a GPS to find my keys in my purse. God’s faithfulness to detail and re-direction and patience is beyond any satellite action and I am grateful. These last two posts are a comfort to a friend so I’m passing them on- another work of God’s grace. Thanks!
7:30 pm
I admit that my first encounter with GPS resulted in turning the built-in dashboard feature off and forgetting about it for awhile. This is because when the voice began to insist that we exit the freeway and turn around, I not only refused to comply, but I also became confused (and annoyed). Trying to get to know and trust the device seemed daunting to me at the time. Besides, it wasn’t my car.
I enjoy it immensely when the concrete truth is also a metaphor for something much more profound. (Isn’t this always?) The twist in this particular story is that when I did finally brave trying again, I realized that the initial discouraging GPS experience had to do with a human programming error, so that the destination was our starting point and the starting point was our destination. Thus, the GPS kept telling us to turn around because we had inadvertently asked it to send us where we had come from. As it was, we had just left home. The GPS was only trying to get us back there.
I am happy to report that I’ve learned much about GPS since then. And I never leave home without it.
8:53 pm
Hyatt, how familiar this analogy is to us! We speak on Spirituality to the engaged couples in our church’s marriage preparation classes. I refer to our GPS as “God’s Powerful Spirit.” We relay our arguments over directions in the past and how this device was to make our travel time more pleasurable. We also speak about the need to agree about our destination and the need to make a conscious decision to actually follow the directions that we receive. We describe the rough weather, road blocks, detours, and unplanned side trips that may be part of our journey together, and the infinite patience of our GPS. No matter how far off track we get, our GPS will bring us home!
Keep on blogging!
Barbie
10:29 am
This brings to mind the word seredipity.
My travel companions are a Thomas Guide (vintage 1980s or 1990s) an idea of where the ocean is and serendipity. The results can be as you described – “slower, but it may be more scenic. It may be frustrating, but it may contain more learning.” And that is just fine with me.
Another enjoyable read – thank you!