Navigation

I like to be prepared. Before I head out on a long road trip, I like to know where I'm going. I like to scout out directions on the internet beforehand. I like to zoom in on turns so I know specifically what precedes each turn. I will talk to people who have made the trip before me. I like to know what to expect. I just don't want to get lost!!

These days everyone seems to just hop in their cars, plug their destination into their GPS, and start driving. I, on the other hand, still have a hard time fully trusting that woman with the accent who talks to me from a little electronic box and tells me when to go. Too often I find myself wanting to tell her where to go...and it's nowhere nice. ;-)

You would have laughed. We headed down to Cape May this past weekend with my intricately plotted out turn-by-turn directions given to me by a co-worker who had made the trip many times on a route that was "guaranteed" to be faster, even though it wasn't the most direct way. But in addition to my printed directions, we had my car's internal DVD guided GPS system turned on, AND we had a Garmin plugged in for good measure. Actually, we literally did laugh out loud at ourselves and our overkill on preparedness.

I swear I'm not that directionally challenged, but even with all three navigation systems in place...yes, we ended up getting off course more than once.  It was pretty sad, actually.  So sad that we honestly just had to laugh.

• Problem #1:  We had too much input.  Too many devices telling us which way was the "best" way.  Too many different variations.  Too much noise.  And we tried to listen to all of it instead of just focusing step by step on one map.
• Problem #2:  We were looking for a place to stop along the way for food and for a beach chair to replace the one that was forgotten at home.  Of course, we were also talking about everything under the sun, too.  We got distracted.  We detoured from our set course.  We got turned around.
• Problem #3:  We didn't get going until evening, and it was getting dark.  We couldn't see all the road signs very well.  We were driving in unfamiliar territory.  We were keeping an eye out for deer.  We had a random car pull out in front of us with no headlights on.  It wasn't the easiest to make sure we stayed on course while trying to avoid potential danger along the way.

Honestly, isn't this all a little bit  like life?  Actually, I find it's a lot like my relationship with God.

• There are times when I genuinely just have too much input.  I'm trying to focus on following what God wants for me, and I have too many things clamoring for my attention.  I read books.  I ask for opinions from friends.  I listen to sermons.  And the whole time, what I really need to do is just stop and dive into His Word and focus on listening to Him and following Him step by step. 
• There are times when I'm just not paying attention.  I'm going about my daily activities, running down my to do list, and going from one scheduled event to the next.  I'm doing necessary things, but I get distracted.  Even good things can take you off of your intended course and get you turned around if you're not careful.
• There are times when I'm simply in defensive mode.  I'm hurting.  I'm more worried about self preservation than stepping out and trying to actively follow God's leading.  I'm just trying to navigate through those dark days when I can't really see where I'm going, and I'm trying to avoid more pain.  I'm trying to see His hand, but it's so hard when life is masked in the darkness of heartache.

I love that no matter what, God's there with us even when we get off course.  I love that He's patient with us when we are distracted.  I love that I can trust that He always knows our destination even when we're completely lost.  I love that if I slow down and actually pay attention and listen, He never fails to lead me one step at a time.  And I love that He's not annoying like the lady in the box repeating, "Recalculating.  Recalculating."  :-)

The good news is that we learned our lesson for our return home.  We carefully followed the directions I had printed out step by step and silenced all other apparatus.  We only stopped for food once and did not deviate from our course in doing so.  And we left earlier in the afternoon, so we had daylight the entire time.  Hmmmm...it's amazing how much faster and easier we were able to navigate our way home.