I have come to rely heavily on my GPS since uprooting myself from my familiar California environment and plopping right in the middle of a new Texas life.  Google Maps is seriously one of my best friends.  I can with all confidence say that I wouldn’t have ventured out much at all without it these past 9 months, intimidated as I was by Dallas/Fort Worth roads, the multiple swoopy and confusing freeways, numerous detours for construction, totally unfamiliar parts of town, all of which conspire against me, making me unsure of my surroundings and erasing my sense of direction.  But having the guidance I needed made me much more confident and adventurous in exploring our new hometown and the surrounding area. 

I’m sure I’m not alone here.  Pretty much everyone I know has come to rely on GPS.  We pull out our smartphones, enter our desired destination, and we set out, trusting the guidance system we chose. 

We may think we know the best direction to take before we start, but out of nowhere we are rerouted by our GPS into the unfamiliar: a completely different route to our destination, one we’ve never taken before.  This alternate route may be to avoid an accident, road work, something that could delay or be a detriment to you.  Something that would leave you stuck behind seemingly every Texas Edition truck in the greater Metroplex.  Or it the reroute could just be a faster and more efficient path to your destination. 

 Sometimes the new route is a little unnerving because it is unfamiliar, not what you’re used to, taking you through an area that might seem a bit on the sketchy side- falling-down houses, graffiti-covered walls, and less-than-savory looking businesses- but you trust the navigation system.  Your experience has proven the GPS knows things you don’t. 

Sometimes the new route takes you on a beautiful detour, showing you an area you’ve never seen- a cute downtown shopping area, a neighborhood of beautiful homes, lush green wooded hills- one you would love to go back to and explore a little bit more.   

Sometimes you seriously wonder where in the world you are, how you got there, if you are (as it seems) a million miles from your desired landing spot, and whether you’ll ever arrive at your destination.  And then.  You do.  Safe and sound.  Just where the GPS wanted you to be.  

I’ve learned so much the past 2 years about trusting my God, trusting His navigation, during some of the hardest times in my life.  I’ve had more than a few detours in my life, many that were through some sketchy areas, scary and unfamiliar, not knowing what would be around the next corner.  And I know God has routed me around things that would have kept me stuck, avoided negative situations that would drag me down, delay me, be a detriment to me.  He has taught me He knows the road ahead of me in ways I don’t.  In ways I can’t. 

In this journey He has taught me to trust that He will get us where he wants us to be, whether the route seems like the right one or not.  The unfamiliar, the road less traveled, can often be the absolute best.

Maybe trusting my Navigator, knowing He gives me the guidance I need, has made me a bit more adventurous, a bit more willing to venture out into new territory.  I will continue this journey, trusting God’s GPS.  

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”  Isaiah 30:21

Christian Women's Blog

2 thoughts on “GPS for the Journey

  1. I always love the analogy of the GPS with regards to trusting God. It’s such a tangible reminder, one that pretty much EVERYONE should be able to relate too.
    On a side note, but also very applicable to your post, Mandy and I relied on Google Maps/GPS the entire time we were in Boston and traveling to New Bedford. All I can say is…Wow.We.Would.Have.Been.Lost.For.Days. without it. Boston’s narrow streets, lack of wide-laned freeways and people honking for days, had my nerves seriously frayed! However, because we had our GPS, we were never lost and always ended up right where we needed to be, when we needed to be there.
    My story is the same with God. He’s always there, ready to calm our frayed nerves (if we just let him) and get us to our final destination, safe and sound.

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