Studies and research are often done on seemingly stupid things, sometimes with mind-blowing amounts of money spent on them. So why has nobody done a study of one of life’s most puzzling issues?
I’m sure wives all over the world would like an answer to this question: Why won’t men ask for directions when they’re lost?
I guess that could be taken one step further and involve secondary research into why men refuse to even admit that they’re lost. My husband’s theory is that he isn’t lost as long as he has a tank of gas.
Let’s just say that has taken us on some interesting–and long–journeys through the years. Whenever the words “I’ve got a shortcut” leave Paul’s mouth, a collective groan is heard from every other member of the family. Yes, we’ve been on way too many unintentional scenic journeys.
So you can understand why I was so thrilled with the invention of the GPS. Our new SUV came equipped with one and we love it. We’ve even named the melodic voice on our GPS.
“Judy” does a great job 90% of the time, but when she messes up, it can cause all sorts of problems–like the time when I was trying to get to the television station to do an interview, and Judy sent me to the wrong side of Atlanta.
Judy caused a major situation last weekend. Our masonry contracting company operates in two states. Paul had appointments with a couple of potential customers in South Carolina so I rode with him to look at the jobs. We’d already driven about two hours when Judy’s voice announced that our exit was just ahead.
I glanced at the screen to see how far we were from our destination, and it said we were about 30 minutes away. We followed Judy’s voice through multiple left turns, right turns and intersections that led us way into the boonies.
And then the unthinkable happened. Judy quit talking to us. We didn’t have written directions and we had no idea where to go next. I’m usually the navigator when we go places, but I didn’t have a clue where we were–or even how to get back to where we’d come from.
Like most men, Paul’s idea was to keep driving. I said, “But we’ve already driven about 30 minutes, and when we took the exit from the interstate, the screen said it was only 30 minutes to our destination. If we just keep driving, we’re probably going to go too far–and besides, we don’t know where to turn off of this road.”
I could visualize the headlines, “North Carolina Couple Drives on Every Country Road in South Carolina Before Being Rescued Five Days Later.”
I tried to pull up directions on my phone, but evidently we were so far out in the country that even that didn’t work. Paul kept driving. I said, “Why don’t you call the homeowner and see if she can give us directions to her house from here?”
“She probably won’t know how to tell us to get there.”
I said, “We’ve been riding a long time, and I sure don’t want to keep driving another 30 minutes without knowing where we’re going. Why don’t we take a chance on it? What’s her name, and I’ll look at the clipboard to find her number?”
She answered the phone. I’m sure it was hilarious as I tried to tell here where we were–which is kind of hard to do when you don’t know where you are at the moment. I shared the names of businesses as we passed them but nothing rang a bell for her. Finally, I saw a large industrial plant on the left. When I mentioned that name, she said, “Oh, you’ve gone too far.”
Yes, I’ll admit it. I gave Paul one of those “you should have listened to me” looks.
She told us to turn around and gave directions for the next two roads for us to take. “There’s a church right after you turn right. Wait there and I’ll come meet you so you can follow me to the house.”
We followed her down multiple roads that led us even farther into the middle of nowhere. As we turned into her driveway, I told Paul to make sure he asked for directions back to I-85 so we’d know how to get there when we left.
The homeowner’s husband kindly offered to lead us back to the road we’d been on when I called his wife. He took another route back. Yes, even more roads on our tour of South Carolina. We had no idea where we were.
Eventually we came back to the church where we’d met up with his wife. A little way down the road, he turned left. Paul kept going straight. I said, “What are you doing? The man turned left back there.”
He replied, “I think if we go on down this road it will take us back to the interstate.”
My eyebrows might have been a little higher on my forehead than normal as I said, “Why in the world wouldn’t you follow the man who knows where he’s going!” I convinced him to go back to where the man had turned.
He’d pulled off to wait for us, and he motioned for us to pull up beside him. He said, “Go to the end of this road and turn left. Go just a little ways and turn right and then you should see a sign a few minutes later that will lead you to I-85.”
I’ve never been so glad to see an interstate in all my life!
You know, we laugh, but don’t we do exactly the same thing with God? He knows where He’s going and He knows where He’s taking us, but when He says, “turn here” or “follow me” we take off on our own, thinking we know the best way to go–and we end up lost in a wilderness of our own making.
Sweet friends, let’s determine today that we’re going to keep our eyes on Jesus, that we’re going to follow Him even when it doesn’t make sense to us–and that we’ll follow Him wherever He leads us.
Because, after all, our spiritual GPS–the God Positioning System–will never fail us and will never lead us astray.
Oh, and if you haven’t met Him yet, a great place to meet up with Him is at church. He’ll lead the way from there.
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will guide you with My eye.” (Psalm 32:8)
