Getting Lost

I have such a reputation for getting lost, that I rarely get asked for directions. When I am given directions, I am given multiple landmarks to watch for, and a phone number for When, not If, I get lost. I thank God for Goggle, Mapquest, and all the other online map websites. My mother can find a place using the directions written on the back of a crumpled napkin with a crayon, viewed in failing light. She has a great sense of direction.... Me, if I find myself at a cross roads, and know I have to choose left or right, I decide which my 'sense of direction' is showing me, then go in the opposite direction. :) My son once bought me a bumper sticker that read "Boldly Going Nowhere!". I proudly displayed it.

Why do I get lost? Often it is due to the difficulties of navigating whilst trying to drive solo. It's hard to read a map, steer a car, bop to the music, and watch for the occasion deer whom love to Leap out of nowhere and throw themselves in front of my car. Let's not even talk about the squirrels. I really need a bumper sticker that reads "I brake for Squirrels". I also get lost because of fear. Fear of getting completely lost, fear of ending up somewhere scary, fear of encountering car problems on some lone deserted back road. Fear. I envy my friend Ro, who travels with nary a map, just a pretty good idea of where she's going, and an attitude of enjoyment.

Getting lost is not always a terrible thing. In the course of getting lost, I have seen some amazing things...I have seen fawns grazing near their mother. Amish children at play. Beautiful old houses surrounded by carefully tended cottage gardens. I have also found road connections that latter helped me when I was traveling that way again.

There is a quote, "Not all who wander are lost" J.R.R. Tolkien. Fear motivates all of us too often. It is better to shake off that fear, remember that I have a Guide, my Father in Heaven, and confidently walk or drive down the paths laid before me. I will seek to enjoy the wandering when it happens.