Directional Disability
I’ve never been a good navigator. Though it didn’t become obvious until well after I got my driver’s license, the signs were there in elementary school. Geography was never a strong subject; My teacher’s patience was stretched trying to explain the difference between latitude and longitude, and then there’s the torment that was finding coordinates using degrees and minutes. I can barely read a compass, and unless we are dealing with a map of a place I’m familiar with or landmarks I can see along the route, I’m lost. I’m often thankful for all the technology that is available to me. With Internet map sites telling me exactly how many miles before each and every turn, an electric compass in my vehicle, and my trusty cell phone, I make many long trips by myself. With these tools, I’ve been trying to hide my “directional disability” for a long time. Through trial and error I’ve acquired a functional knowledge of the highway system, and if I really concentrate, I can figure out if I am turning east or west without looking at the display panel in my car.
More than once I have been completely lost and pulled over to ask for directions. Once when I was especially lost on my way to an event, I pulled over for the second time to ask for directions. Due to the stress of being lost and late, my first attempt to ask for directions had led me down a dead end. Imagine my relief at finding a police officer on his lunch break inside the fast food restaurant! With his directions, I was at my destination within 10 minutes. My crowning achievement was navigating through the tunnels and one way streets of Boston several weeks ago. Though we made a couple wrong turns along the way, we found our destination on time. What a thrill!
Life seems to mimic my road trips. I think I have it all figured out, that I know my way to where I want to go, and I’m determined to get there single-handedly. Sometimes I get turned around. Still I try to muscle through it myself, thinking that I can find my own way even after my directions have proven inaccurate. Sometimes I ask for help from a faulty source of information and end up farther from my goal. But God has something better in mind for me. I don’t have to wander the road of life lost and confused. There are divine directions, more reliable than my trusty Internet map sites can hope to be.
You don’t have to look far to find the spiritual equivalent of a police man, with directions and advice you know you can trust. A few times I got to use a friend’s GPS device. How easy! I don’t need to figure anything out or call for help, I just need to listen. It tells me when to turn, even what lane of the highway I should be in to make that turn. And if a happen to miss my exit? That reassuring voice comes back on, saying “Recalculating route.” Isn’t that wonderful? Even if I mess up, it redirects me back to the right path. That is what God wants to do. If I listen, there is the still small voice of God, directing me to my final destination, and to many good things along the way.
“You don’t have to look far to find the spiritual equivalent of a police man, with directions and advice you know you can trust.”
It’s amusing to consider that, spiritually, most people are like the stereotypical man: they sort of know that there’s someone nearby who could help them, but for whatever reason they do not seek out direction.
We have directions, a map, and people to help us get there safely — they might just be there for a reason.
Your second to the last paragraph is a great summary of life. This analogy is a great way to help us view things, because life mimics my road trips too!
I’m thankful that God is so merciful when we miss His direction. He uses his body and things like this blog to help us recalculate. Thanks for being an instrument He can use.