I am a map person. First of all because I have to be. I have a pretty good sense of direction, but there was the time I was driving from Galena, ILLINOIS to Chicago, ILLINOIS, and I ended up in Janesville, WISCONSIN, so there’s that.
But also I’m a map person because I want a sense of where I am and what’s around me and where I might be going.
Also, some of us in our family (I’m not going to name names) are known for getting lost – a tad disoriented, if you will. One daughter in particular has been know to have us “Talk her in”, keeping us on the phone like Mission Control. Thus, the map obsession.
If someone calls you and says, “I’m lost, can you help me?” what’s the first question you ask?
“WHERE ARE YOU NOW?” Right?
In other words, “what are the landmarks you see around you?” The same is true for our spiritual trek.
As Jesus people our “destination” is wherever we are becoming most like Him.
Every once in awhile I think it’s good for us to ask ourselves a few questions like:
1. Where am I now?
There are as many “YOU ARE HERE’s” as there are individuals. You’re at a road block, or reorienting, or at a rest stop, or charging down a black diamond trail. What are the “landmarks” around you that give you clues – like your responsibilities, circumstances, and opportunities? The landmarks for a single career person and a young mom of toddlers are going to look very different.
2. What is it that’s going to help me live more like Jesus where I am, or get me where I need to go with Him?
Is there a relationship, experience, or spiritual practice that would help me become more like Jesus? Is He prompting me to be content where I am and learn from Him, or is He nudging me to move, take a risk, step out?
At our church we take a spiritual inventory each January to look at the journey we’re on and ask these questions. This morning I’m meeting with someone who wants to talk to me about what next steps she might take as a result.
For me, as I looked at where I am, I recognized that I needed to climb a steep trail in the area of honoring God with my money, so I signed up for a Financial Peace class. John still laughs at my small steps in this area, but he’s also encouraging and supportive.
How I wish we all could sit down together over coffee and help each other in this process of navigating and map questing, asking God together for His guidance!
If you want to read more on getting your bearings, look here and here.
If you have a question, or an insight might you throw it out to the community in the comments here? We’re in this together!
By an act of faith, Abraham said yes to God’s call to travel to an unknown place that would become his home. When he left he had no idea where he was going. By an act of faith he lived in the country promised him, lived as a stranger camping in tents. Isaac and Jacob did the same, living under the same promise. Abraham did it by keeping his eye on an unseen city with real, eternal foundations—the City designed and built by God. Hebrews 11:8-10 MSG
