Driving Without a GPS

Photo by Lance Grandahl on Unsplash

It was Monday afternoon when I found myself driving along a familiar highway, my husband asleep in the passenger’s seat. We were heading home from our honeymoon where we stayed in a lovely hotel about an hour south of where we live. I had passed out of the unfamiliar onto the highway that I have taken nearly every day for years. Glancing at my GPS, I saw that I had about two miles until my exit. I continued to drive, but I was taken aback when suddenly, I noticed myself looking again at the GPS—1.7 miles to my exit. 1.3 miles. 1 mile. 0.7 miles. 0.5 miles. 0.2 miles. 0.1 miles. Take the next right onto Exit 24.

My husband, my family, and my friends all tease me because I am the only person they know who can get lost while using a GPS. Yet, if I feel that I am unfamiliar with even the smallest part of my route, I turn on the GPS. You would think that I would use it only when I come upon unfamiliar territory, but I often glance up at the GPS even when I am perfectly familiar with where I am. I thought it was kind of funny when I noticed myself checking the GPS rather than the all too familiar road signs.

I find myself now in very unfamiliar territory as a new wife. I turned on my GPS long before I began my journey into marriage, and I glued my eyes to the course I’d set, rather than the road ahead. I think that many people approach life in this way. We glue our eyes to the GPS, but sometimes the GPS is wrong. Sometimes it doesn’t account for unexpected road work or accidents that block off the exit we need to take. What the GPS fails to pick up becomes evident on the road ahead as we draw close to these unexpected detours.

God puts into place these road signs that point us in new directions, and we fear that if we follow them, we’ll stray too far off course. Yet, it just may be that these detours, these unexpected opportunities to love and to grow, may just be where we are meant to be.

“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9)

Make your plans, friends. Be intentional in all that you do, and remain disciplined to accomplish the work God has placed before you. But live with your eyes wide open facing the road. Pay attention to the road signs along your journey. You never know just where God may lead you.