GPS

Today I traveled to a training event for an upcoming conference. When we got to our destination, we registered and then decided to head out on the town for dinner. It was my turn to drive one of the vehicles so I jumped in the front seat and found the car I was following. I also had our destination put in my phone in case we got separated. And, just so I knew how far away our destination was. It wasn't far- only about 4 miles. But, it said it would be about 12 minutes away. Soon, we were driving along and hit the city rush hour traffic. I'm not used to that and had to remind myself to be patient. It wasn't bad and before I knew it we were 3 minutes away. Then, the car I was following went the opposite direction from what my phone said. But, not wanting to get separated, I followed the car in front of me. Suddenly, instead of 3 minutes away, we were 12 minutes away, then another wrong turn and we were 14 minutes away! This went on for awhile and amidst the giggles, I wondered what was happening in the car in front of me. Obviously, their GPS was different than mine. Finally, we got back on the right path, headed in the right direction, and we made it to our destination.

Several things come to mind when replaying this scene. First, I knew none of these people except one. But, this incident became a bonding time that years from now I will see them and say "remember that time when...". That was pretty helpful to me. It gave us a connection in a world where I wasn't quite connected. (Not through anyone's fault- they were all great from the start of our day! They even bought me a birthday cake at lunch which was really sweet!) But, I felt like that was a gift- something to help bring us all together.

Secondly, it reminded me of life, of our path with God. We all start out on a journey. Even if we all start at the same place and even if we have the directions, sometimes we decide to go the opposite way. And, sometimes it's more negative than others when we veer off the path, but, I'd have a hard time finding someone that never veered. But, when we decide to follow the path, we get to our destination. Sometimes we take a really twisted, up and down way of getting there! But, if we decide to follow, He will lead us there. And, along the way, we can still develop support, relationships, and knowledge to help us, And, in later years, we can use our stories...maybe to connect and say remember when, or maybe as a warning to someone saying "Don't go this way!". But, if we learn from our wrong turns and find the right way, we will get to where we are supposed to be!

So, where was God today? He got us safely to our destination. And, he put us all together for a reason- to find ways to share His word woth others by using our gifts.

Blessings,

Jennifer