GPS OPTIONAL

Okay, I’m going to confess it right here, lay myself open for everyone to know the truth and evaluate.  Please, friends, don’t judge too harshly.   Here it is… I don’t own a GPS!  Whew, relieved to get that off of my chest!!  How did this happen, you may ask?  Well, my car was not factory equipped with a GPS and I have not run out and purchased one, duh!  The last time I borrowed one to use, the fuse was blown on the cig lighter and so the GPS wouldn’t work—I took that as a clear sign I should remain low tech.

So, right now, as I am driving unfamiliar roads out of Puyallup, up north to Seattle, I mean East on 167, no, wait, 405 South, no, no,  taking the  I-5 North, looking for Exit #163 and the West Seattle Br….that’s gotta mean bridge, keep on driving…I can only trust the signs are leading me the right direction and that I haven’t taken a wrong turn.   As I get to each new signpost I am both relieved (that I am still on the right track) and hopeful (that the signs will continue to guide me to my ultimate destination).  Would this be easier with a GPS?  Probably so.  Trusting my instincts and watching for signs is not the most reliable way to get around.  I could have even looked at a paper map, mapquested the address, prepared myself for the drive…could have, but didn’t.  

Of course, all of this reminds me of what my friend Robben said when I told her God knew the answers to where I was headed in my new adventure, but He wasn’t sharing those answers with me as soon as I would like.  She said when she gives Kenneth (her GPS) the address she is driving to on the other side of town, he will tell her to drive straight for 2.3 miles and turn right on the next street.  Kenneth does not tell her the complete route.  He only tells her as much as she needs to get her to the next spot where he will give further direction.  If he gave her the entire route, it is likely that she would need to hear it repeated, anyway.  She concentrates on the immediate instructions, what she needs to hear at that moment to guide her to the next turn, the next road. 

 She reminded me that God tells me as much as I need to hear to guide me on this portion of my journey and when I get to the end of these instructions, He will be faithful to give me the next set of directions to move me further down the path to His and my ultimate goal.

Sure, there are other things I can do to figure out where I am headed.  I can set out on unfamiliar roads without being positive where I am going, trusting in myself, certain I will eventually head the right way and end up at the right spot.  I can look for the signs, pray I don’t miss any, “keep my eyes on the prize” and hope for the best.  I can even study the Map.  Unless I take it with me, however, and keep referring to it constantly, updating my status and my location, I won’t remember where I’m supposed to go.  I won’t remember all the twists and turns on the way…not unless Someone goes with me and gives me specific, immediate instructions, then revises those instructions for the next leg of the journey. Oh, wait!  That sounds, uhm, EXACTLY like a GPS.   I know I cannot trust myself to lead where I have not been, but I can always trust GPS (God’s Power Sustains)!  It all comes back to Him!

In the meantime, as I wind through the maze that is West Seattle, I have decided that although GPS is optional, the next car I get is gonna have one!!