Are you lost?
Jul 17, 2020In desperation, I picked up my phone and dialed.
It rang 3 times until finally, my friend Maggie’s voice said, “Hello?"
"I don't know where I'm going," I confessed through tears after an hour of driving.
Maggie's comforting voice, a relief to my panic, gently asked "Are you lost?" And, then with gracious laughter, she added "it happens all the time."
I'm convinced she lives in the middle of nowhere on purpose; off the road so far, out where no GPS has ever been.
I'm convinced she lives there for the sheer fact that she wants her friends to depend — on her.
Then, as if it was God's queue to chime in, I beat him to it:" Yes, God, she's a lot like you in that way, Lord. And I think you do it on purpose too; you create the fog, you dimly light my path and strategically place the curves and forks in my road; all to teach me: dependence."
It was because of a dependence on Maggie, that I eventually made it to her house.
It was a dependence on God which helped me travel my personal, professional, and spiritual paths.
No maps, just dependence on the voices in my ear to guide me.
3 voices to be exact, from 3 people who I could depend on to help lead the way.
Who were these people in my life?
1. The GPS — Someone who has the map. There is a map for our life, it's just not one we can see. So we need to trust the voice of our inner GPS, the Holy Spirit, to guide us down the path.
Our Heavenly Father knows where we are and where we’re going.
And while he doesn’t show us the entire destination, he promises he has a purpose and a plan for our lives (Jeremiah 29:11) as well as “good works, which [He] prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10, NIV).
So, we just need to ask him what’s the first step from here. He promises His word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105) and he will be faithful to show us where he wants us to place our feet — each step of the way.
What is the next step God is placing on your heart?
2. The Navigator— Someone who can help read the signs. When the road is foggy it is helpful to have someone beside you, watching the road for signposts.
It’s these navigators who are skilled at interpreting when to go, when to stop, when to wait, when to watch for deer, or falling rocks. Often times when we're looking for direction, the signs we need to read are inside ourselves.
Signs like: what skills we need to learn, what strengths need leveraging, what weaknesses need sharpening, what values are honored, and what passions ignite.
Who do you have to come alongside you when it’s too foggy to take the first step?
2. The Mentor— Someone who knows the way. Like my friend Maggie, her familiarity with the twisted trees, the barns and silos, the broken fence, and the abandoned refrigerator littering the side of the dusty road was exactly what I needed to guide me directly to her house.
What I saw as lost, she saw as almost there.
What I saw as a frustrated wrong turn, she saw as the short cut.
Maggie was my mentor - my sherpa (the guides hired to take climbers up Mount Everest) the one who knows the path because she's traveled it so frequently.
Sometimes, when we are looking for direction we need to seek out our mentors, the ones who have been there.
In my life, they have been the mom who also had to overcome guilt as she worked outside the home,
the friend who grieved the loss of her dad,
the woman who has victory over fear, rejection, and anxiety,
the entrepreneur who started, and learned how to grow her business through failure,
the spiritual director who has experienced God in ways I hunger for, or
the missionary who loves her neighbors in authentic ways.
It’s these guides, these mentors who help us navigate when life puts us on an unfamiliar road.
Who do you know who has been where God is calling you to go?
Dependence is a hard place to be, but when I ask God to show me which way to go He has been faithful.
He has been faithful to light the next path, AND also put the right people in my path along the way.
People I could trust to help me ensure I have the right skills of the journey, help me see the signs clearly when things get foggy and those who have gone before to mentor me around the hardships which come.
Still need more direction? Try coaching, head over to my calendar and book a time slot that works best for you. Your first appointment is complimentary.
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