Thanks: My GPS

     I am very thankful for the built-in GPS in my car – I try not to leave home without it.  It has taken me to places I never would have dreamed of, through which I never thought to drive, (like the Antioch Bridge between Lodi and Antioch, pictured below);  areas through which I wouldn’t  normally pass; and routes which I didn’t even know existed.

     I wish I could say that car’s nav system keeps me from getting lost.  Au contraire – I am almost always lost (for this reason, I give myself an hour’s head start so that I am only half an hour late going to unfamiliar places).  My nav system merely CONFIRMS that I AM lost!

     Part of the reason for the constant disorientation is the fact that my brain has a difficult time processing left and right directions, as well as North, South, East, and West.  It might have something to do with mild sydlexia.  When The Voice says “In the half mile, make a right turn, then immediate slight right,”  for some reason the car turns left, and then I’d have to watch Sarge (that’s what I started calling The Voice, because it is so bossy) recalculate.

     Sarge isn’t without drawbacks.  After all, the system is only as good as the input.  For example, just today, I plugged in the address for Jim’s work.  It took me to an empty field across a Toys R Us warehouse.  I’d been to Jim’s work in Stockton before, and I didn’t remember a Toys R Us warehouse.  I didn’t realize that the difference between 1976 W. Charter and 1976 E. Charter was 4 miles of road, 20 minutes of traffic. 

     A 5-year old software can also cause problems.   For instance, today, Sarge told me to take the Antioch exit.  THERE IS NO LONGER AN ANTIOCH EXIT!!!  The freeway signs now say Charter.  It was a good thing I was watching the blue line on the screen, instead of the road.  I was able to take the Charter exit which was labeled Antioch on the screen.  Never mind that it took me to Toys R Us instead of Caltrans!

Still, even with all its drawbacks, I am thankful for Sarge, because I know that even with unexpected detours and other bumps in the road, Sarge will eventually get me to where I need to be.

     There is another GPS  upon which I rely – this one has no errors, no miscalculations, is never outdated, and will never steer me into a questionable direction or situation, and would NEVER put my well-being in danger.  When I was lost, it steered me to The Cross.  It gives me the direction I need, and even the routes I need to take.  It tells me that although I CAN go there (All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. I Corinthians 6:12a), I shouldn’t.  This GPS – God’s Problem Solver – is my Bible.  I don’t leave home without it.