It's been a little while since I've posted, I'll consider it a bit of a summer break. On the other hand, maybe it is a sign that I should be writing a little more often... Hope you enjoy!
Back in the “old days”, people of the world used maps
to navigate where they were going.
Opening up a map to plot Point A to Point B was sometimes an adventure
unto itself – especially folding it back up into that perfectly creased, multi-page
rectangle it once was. The problem with
these maps was they could and would become outdated in a relatively short time frame. Mr. Rand McNally
wouldn’t be able to keep up with new road construction in real time.
Nowadays, we simply have to punch in an address into a
GPS or phone without doing much research and we are on our way. As far as we’ve come, however, some times
those devices are not updated either. In
fact, sometimes those GPS systems can be flat out wrong.
“I would have been here a half-hour ago, but my GPS
took me down a dirt road, through a cornfield, past a circus tent and I had to
stop to get directions,” said just about everyone I know at some point in their
lives.
Thankfully, when confronted with situations such as
this, there are signs along the way. If
we are cognizant of them, we can and will arrive at our destination
safely. To be successful though, it is
imperative that we pay attention to the signs or else we can easily get
lost.
I believe life is like that as well.
There are times in life when we know where we are
going and exactly how to get there. More
often than not, we think we know where we are headed but we run into detours or
even roadblocks along the way. If we do
not pay attention to the signs, it can be very easy to get off course or even
lost.
Sometimes these signs are big, clear and easy to
read. RIGHT TURN ONLY or DO NOT ENTER
come to mind in both a literal and figurative sense. In my experience, the type of signs that we
must pay attention to are much more subtle the majority of the time. If we want to see them, we need to look for
them. By staying in the moment, being
aware of our surroundings and taking time for personal reflection, these signs
can and will come into focus. It’s not
always easy, but if we take the time to look hard enough, they will reveal
themselves.
Everyone needs help along the way, just like we have
all asked for directions in this journey.
Personally, I believe in someone much bigger than myself and I try to
ask Him for help when I do veer off course or get lost.
An Ultimate Tour Guide if you will.
While asking is great, ultimately it is our
responsibility to dig deep and look for those signs, both inwardly and
outwardly. The next step – the action to
follow the signs revealed to us – then falls directly on our shoulders.
This can and will be tough at times. In fact, at times it will simply suck – even
more than having to take a long detour.
Much like a detour, this will also take faith, patience and trust along
the way.
Detour signs are put out for a reason – to
get us to our destination safely. These “Life Signs” will do the same.
We just need to look for them and follow them along
the way.
