Recent driving events have caused me to reflect upon one of my favorite subjects in elementary school which was geography. Geography included not learning about other counties, but map-making and map-navigating. We would have homework or a test in which we were required to find something on a map, and then write out the directions to that something from the given starting point. Sometimes obstacles were thrown in–like a river or a dead end–and I loved the puzzle-quality of having to find one’s destination.
I love maps and when trying to find a yet-unknown destination these days, my first glance is at the Rand McNally “Nashville and Vicinity” map that we own. Then, just like in geography class, I trace my way from “here” to “there” (after finding the street in the index). Street maps are becoming quaint, however, in this world of Google maps and GPS devices and iPhones. Asking an under-30 person to look up something on the map is sort of like asking them to look up something in the phone book–“what? Let’s just enter it in Garman,” or “here it is on Google maps–do you want the street view, hybrid or satellite?”
I”m not ready to give up my maps, but on Google maps, I do like the way that I can actually SEE my destination ahead of time. It’s kind of nice not only to be looking for a number (which is not always prominently displayed) but also looking for the fast-food restaurant located nearby. I haven’t warmed so much to the idea of the GPS devices, mostly because I’m not an auditory learner. When I’ve ridden with people who have GPS devices, I realize that I have no concept of how far or close 50 feet is (“turn left in fifty feet.”). Is that a lot or a little? I’m also fearful that the GPS voice will be disappointed in me if I miss the turn and heave a big computerized sigh if I miss a turn. If I’m going to get lost, I don’t want attention called to it but I want to be like cats, who, when they accidently fall off a piece of furniture, immediately begin licking a paw as if to say, “I meant to do that.” Oh, I meant to turn left because I wanted to see where that street was in relationship to this one. Or if I hadn’t missed that turn, I wouldn’t have known that there was a Krispy Kreme doughnut place on the corner. While this adage has not held true for every member of my family, I maintain that I have always gained much from the experience of getting lost, mostly information to be used the next time I’m out and about. My mother asked me once how I found my way around a new city to which I had moved, and I told her that I drove around and got lost a lot. She said that method did not appeal to her at all!
Well, I’m rambling (as in driving around aimlessly–did you ever do that as a child? Just go for a drive?), but all of this navigation talk makes me think about Abraham, and how when the Lord told him to “go,” Abraham went. And he didn’t go alone, either. He dragged his whole entourage into this unknown journey with him–wife, flocks, possessions. I really can’t imagine going anywhere without having some kind of navigation device–a map, a GPS device, an iPhone. I can’t imagine convincing my family to take such a leap of faith. Still, whether as dramatic as Abraham’s departure or as common as my daily driving around Middle Tennessee, it’s true that none of us really knows where we are going on any given day. Our day may start out headed in one direction but we end up in another; we may set out to accomplish one thing but find a more compelling quest by the day’s end. It’s enough to know that God is not only ahead of us leading us on our daily journey, God is beside us as we decide which turns to make, and God is behind us, reminding us of dead-ends and obstacles we previously encountered. I don’t start out every day completely lost (although some would disagree!), but even if I don’t know exactly where I’ll end up, in this life I’m comforted by the knowledge that God our Creator, Sustainer and Redeemer is indeed before me, beside and behind me wherever I travel.
Navigating
October 2, 2010 by Sally Hughes
AMEN!
Yeah i’m with grandma…getting lost is NOT an effective way to learn your way around. Not in Richmond, at least, where the roads seem to have been designed by ants.
Also, on most GPS (including not totally great hand-me-down one I just got) if you make a wrong turn or miss a turn, it recalculates and tells you how to get to your destination from the new place that you’ve ended up. It’s great.
When I taught about Abraham this summer, several of the kids said that Abraham should’ve taken a plane cause that was the best way to travel…it was kind of sad…
you know I love Abraham! and real maps. and getting lost for fun. and choosing my own way. (sometimes even when I put an address into a Garmin, I “mute” it so I don’t have to listen to how she wants me to get there!)
there is definitely an exasperated tone that creeps into the GPS announcing that she’s “RECALCULATING” when I’ve made a mistake. so shameful!