Lost and Found

I have a terrible fault.
I get lost – even when I know where I am going – my sense of directions is hopeless.

Today was an example.

I had plans this morning to meet my cousin, Lovella, and her friend Becky for lunch in honor of Jill who is visiting from Texas.
We were meeting at Minter Gardens which is not far from where I live. I had been there before but never driven on my own.
So I did what I have gotten in the habit of doing. I went to 'myTelus' and typed in the starting and destination addresses and printed out the directions.
I like the step by step directions given and also how long each step should take.

Doing a double precaution , I asked my husband if the directions were correct.
He glanced at it and thought I shouldn’t have a problem. I asked him how long it took to get to Minter Gardens and he said about 45 minutes. I checked my print-out instructions and they estimated 40 min. Pretty close.
So I thought I was good to go.

I left myself plenty of time to make sure I wouldn’t be late .
Everything was great until I got to the specified freeway exit 170.
I took the exit but then realized that nothing looked familiar. I quickly decided that driving around was getting me no-where.

I thought I better stop and ask for help. I wished I still had my cell phone but I had cancelled it a few months ago.
I stopped at a gas station and tried to call Lovella from a phone booth but the call was cut off after she said ‘Hello’. The booth kept my two loonies and all I had left was a toonie and it didn’t fit into the coin slot.

A lady was sitting in a car nearby waiting for someone so I walked over and asked her if she knew how to get to Minter Gardens. She didn’t.
I asked another couple and they were tourists and had no idea.
The gas station attendents were East Indian and hardly spoke English.
I passed a gentlemen and I asked if he was from the area and he said no but kindly offered to try to help me anyway. I told him I was looking for Minter Gardens and happily he knew where it was and gave me directions.

I finally arrived at Minter Gardens a half hour late to meet my friends who had been worrying that I had run into trouble!! Jill had suggested they pray and so they had!! Wonderful friends!!
Instead of the 15 minutes it should have taken me to drive from my house to Minter Gardens, it took me one and a half hours.

Those of you who know me, know that most of my experiences get turned into an object lesson. This one is an easy script !!

I may be unusual in the fact that I struggle to find my way around on this earth, but when it comes to finding the way from here to eternity I am the same as the rest of you -- we are all ‘challenged’ and everyone of us has gotten ‘lost’.

The distance between earth and heaven can be measured by a single breath but we all take considerably longer to get there. And while you may laugh at someone who takes an hour and a half to travel a distance that should only take fifteen minutes, most of us wander around in circles and dead ended detours for many years.
We follow instructions that seem right , we trust the ‘print out’.
For a time everything is great. We do not even know we are lost….but then there comes that defining moment where we recognize that something is wrong. Something is missing from our life – something important. We know we are heading in the wrong direction.

We begin to look for answers, for someone who can help us, give us the directions we need.
We try money, but quickly find that our money cannot buy eternal riches – it is useless- it just doesn’t fit into the ‘slot’.
We ask the people in our life…people who are close to us. But often they don’t have the answers either and they shake their heads with blank looks on their faces.

But we are getting desperate…. Finding the right way becomes the most important thing in our life….nothing else matters. We know that time is running out!

Perhaps we even try to pray…. More likely someone is praying for us!

And finally, someone comes into our life who has answers.
We listen and our heart responds.
We know the truth when we hear it !
How grateful we are when our feet are directed onto the right path.
Finally, we know where we are going…. And we know we will be welcomed when finally we arrive at our destination.

“All we like sheep have gone astray.
We have turned every one to his own way…
Repent and turn to God….
There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repents…
In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.
And this is the promise that He has promised us, even eternal life!!!”
(Is. 53:6, Acts 28:20, Luke 15:10, Prov. 3:6, I John 2:25)

I can’t resist posting some of the photos I took today before my batteries went dead!!
You can probably find Lovella’s or
Jill’s or Becky’s version of today on their blogs!
But here are a few of my pictures.
The first photo is the four of us....from left to right...Lovella, Becky, Jill, me (You can see I am also directionally challenged in height!! smile)