Driving Daisy (my daughter’s yellow Ford) with one exhausted 3rd grade teacher, one grandma who is not used to no cruise control, and one 12 week old puppy who is trying to figure out where the heck he lives now – mixed with snotty drive through girls,pretty sure she spit in my drink,  a GPS that takes us through Washington DC instead of around it, 55 mph instead of 75 mph, $20+ in tolls and driving until 1 am makes for some cranky participants. But we arrived safely, in one piece and all dogs have met, there was no fighting  and the 75 lb English Bulldog has allowed the 11 pound baby mutt to have her bully stick!

Travelling… good times…. I have no idea how I got anywhere without a GPS or my phone.  I mean, who can even read a map?  And in the dark, with a stick shift… it is just not safe!!  I would rather be on my phone – right?  My friend Mr. Google Maps has taken me many places – and for some reason, I BLINDLY trust him.  My English accented friend. Maybe it is the accent – and maybe it is that he can think so quickly on his ….eeerrrr …. feet? It is really a strange phenomenon.

However, we should also ask this question- has Mr. Google Maps ever NOT gotten us where we need to be?  At about the time he predicts we will arrive? Maybe, it is not the way we think we should go, or the way we have been before, but I have never asked him to find a place for me and midway through the trip he says :”I’m sorry, we are lost”. Go back to the starting point and lets try again. Or – “tough luck friend – I have no idea where we are, you are on your own”. Nope – he (or she,depending on which persona you have chosen) NEVER gives us this message.  Never quits. Never leaves us – just keeps re-routing or re-calculating – looking for the next best option to get you to your destination.  This guy never gives up.  And he is really, really nice about it – no tension – just direction. Unlike the brief moment of yelling that transpired in Daisy last night in Baltimore, MD between two humans.  He never yells. He just consistently researches the next best alternative to the mess I have gotten into by not following or understanding his original instructions. Anddddddd, he does this for all those other people on the highway as well!

The connection here is so obvious – I shouldn’t even have to make it for us.  Go ahead, let your mind explore the similarities – draw the conclusions – relax in it’s truth. What did you find?  I found that it is incredible to me that I trust a satellite more than I trust my creator.  I found that I am embarrassed to admit that I fail to look to the true map maker when I take a wrong turn.  I found I am shocked to think how many times I go back to the beginning, square one, and start all over when I should have just moved forward, trusting that the next turn would be the one to take me to my destination.  I found that I give up – but He does not and that constantness is always expressed in a loving manner.

Right now, I am at the “trusting that the destination is at the next turn”.  I was pretty sure that I would have the next step in place by July 1 – and well … that is not happening.  And honestly – career/job wise, I really don’t care.  I don’t ever have to work again.  But – I do feel like I am needed to contribute financially to our family.  And to our meager, and by that I mean nearly non-existent, retirement that we are so close to age wise.  But, I am having to “put my money where my mouth is”” and trust that my true GPS will tell me when I need to make the next turn – when I have reached my destination. I know He will be kind and gentle and consistent with me, and I know I will at times be frustrated because I have no idea what route this trip is following.  I do know that He knows how to get there – I just have to remind myself to let him do the directing.  I  need to be prepared to bear left or right, turn in 600 feet or continue on this route for the next 30 miles.  And I am hoping that I don’t have to hear “re-routing” during this trip – that I am paying close attention to the directions – and following them, whether or not they make sense.

Happy trails….