Getting Lost 2

My pal and I were on a road trip in Atlanta one evening. We were attending a conference, and had purchased tickets to one of our favorite artists at the Fox Theater for that evening. We had our tickets, a yahoo map with directions and a rental car. I was driving, since my friend was +7 months pregnant. She was in charge of the directions. We were so excited…we had heard the Fox Theater was a beautiful old building, with a real stage, mood lighting and ushers. There were actually several artists listed, and we wanted to get to our seats and enjoy a rockin’ evening. (Jars of Clay and Jennifer Knapp)

We started out from the hotel in the rental car and my co-pilot dutifully read off each step of the directions. I took each exit she called out and made a turn at each intersection in the appropriate number of miles/feet/inches. We were so proud of ourselves: small town Florida girls navigating through the big scary city! We had heard so many nightmarish tales of friends driving through Atlanta. It was a piece of cake with those directions!

We arrived at our final turn, and looked for a sign that said anything about “Fox Theater”. Nothing. It was dusk now, and there was nothing that even remotely looked like a theater. She read back through the directions. We were bumfuddled.

It was when we were ready to try and back track that we saw the sentence in bold at the top of the online directions: “Address is not found, directions will take you to the center of the city.” I have to admit; it suddenly became one of those comedy movie moments when the two characters look at each other and yell, “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!”

My heart felt like it went through the floorboards to the street. I don’t like getting lost, and this just seemed so intentional and sneaky. How did I not see that message? How were we going to make it to the concert? Would my friend go into premature labor? How were we going to make it out alive from the center of Atlanta?!

I was ready to make any promise to God to get us out of there. I was so glad to have my best bud and prayer partner with me. Otherwise, I would’ve been on the late news that night: Jane Doe Found Wandering Atlanta. My friend remembered seeing a hotel nearby so we drove there. She went to the front desk. I saw her speaking to the smiling clerk and she came out beaming. “We’re two streets away!” God was so good.

We made it before the lights went down, enjoyed the concert, got super directions from a friendly usher and made it back to our hotel room alive. What a night.

I have to ask you, what are you using for directions in your life? Are you navigating life with directions from someone who’s not sure how to get there? Are you following some theory or advice given to you by a trusted advisor, teacher or friend? My friend and I could’ve avoided this stress if we had simply gone to the source: the Fox Theater.

Have you tried to get some directions? God says he has a plan for your life, a plan to prosper you and not put you in danger. (Jeremiah 29:11) What is your Source for direction? May I suggest you try reading God’s map for your life instead of Yahoo? Because if ever there was someone who knows His way around this world, it’s the Creator.