I occasionally use my phone for directions when I go outside our typical area in town. It strikes me that perhaps my phone has decided that I’m totally without any sense of direction as it insults me by trying to suggest where I might be going when my trip is a regular event. Why would this be helpful to me I wonder? If I go to a location often enough for my phone to know that shouldn’t I know how to get there? Apparently not. I find myself just a little embarrassed to even look at my phone’s directions, finding dignity in finding my own way thank you very much. Ok, so I get lost often, but in so doing I have found so much! I can practically hear many women sighing at their husbands for this strange logic, but my apologies ladies, I am guilty of this particular brand of crazy. I am delighted to solve the mental puzzle of where I am and where I am going, asking for directions is simply unthinkable. This is not to say I don’t look at the map though, maps are for studying, memorizing and plotting over. Directions from others have more often landed me way outside of any where near I planned on going so that I simply don’t trust them. To be honest, I still have a guilty memory of a couple who stopped and asked my directions while I was out on horseback (and not yet even a driver, so totally unused to using road names). I am almost positive I sent them in a very wrong way, not intentionally by any means, but simply drawing up the answer correctly took me longer then they seemed to be willing to wait and being asked something by adults flustered me a bit. After some thought, watching their RV fade into the distance, I realized my error, but too late. I wonder where the wound up? Maybe they really did enjoy seeing that part of the country and it was for their good… or maybe it caused their divorce, hard to say. At any rate, this moment made me realize that maps are for the best, memories and landmarks may be misunderstood. My idea of that big rock over there and someone else’s idea of a big rock may vary considerably. 

I was doing a little reading on butterflies and refreshed my learning on the very curious Monarch. The only butterfly in North America to migrate. They fly hundreds of miles to reach the warmth of Mexico in the fall. I understand they even use the same rest stops along the wayside, coming to their warm home away from home. I know some adults who can barely find their way out of their own homes but these little butterflies know the road home thousands of miles away, and here’s the kicker, it’s a different generation flying down south then the ones flying north, so it’s not like they memorized it and passed it to their kids. They simply know which way to go. They are called one way or another, one generation goes south, the next goes north. Birds are better known for their migrations, as they change from season to season in front of us. Along their way they can get disoriented due to unnatural light sources, and fly sadly to their destruction. 

here’s the kicker, it’s a different generation flying down south then the ones flying north, so it’s not like they memorized it and passed it to their kids. They simply know which way to go. They are called one way or another, one generation goes south, the next goes north. Birds are better known for their migrations, as they change from season to season in front of us. Along their way they can get disoriented due to unnatural light sources, and fly sadly to their destruction. 

From early ages we see that men have always favored certain locations and directions to pray and worship. Judaism, Islam and Christianity have all encouraged the facing of the direction of the Holy Land to pray. For Jews and Christians it has been to Jerusalem or to the East, for Muslims towards Mecca. Modern Christians rarely practice this, but the orthodox still do and many modern Muslims have an app on their phones to know at all times where to direct their prayers. Older style churches were oriented for the parishoners to face East and all mosques have a niche built to point the worshipers in the direction of Mecca. Mankind has always wanted to face God and know which way to go. The trouble is with Muslims, they have the longing, but like birds who fly into lit windows on their migration, they are simply lost in the directions given to them by the wrong source. They listened to the wrong person on the road, who didn’t know how to get to the right way. For the ones who listen to their inner sense of direction, they begin to see that they are being led astray, but only through the Holy Spirit can they be found. 

Let me hear Your faithfulness in the morning,

For I trust in You;

Teach me the way in which I should walk;

For to You I lift up my soul.

Psalm 143:8

Show us the direction for us to go Lord, You alone are our true North, that we might show others the direction to You. Thank You for Your word, our map to study! Help us all to not be disoriented by the unnatural lights of the world, but stay true to You. 

With Love,                                                 Angela Abraham

Time changes us in many ways

Pulling us into different shapes

Our lives so easily whither in the breeze

Longing for a solid place to be

I know very little but one thing I can hold

Time may change everything 

But in You I can be bold

Rivers always find their way to the sea

My heart runs seeking thee

There are many questions down this bumpy road

There is only one thing on which to hold

In this world’s flow 

You are the direction I need to go

Yes, You are the direction that my heart can flow 

You are my direction to go

The birds of spring come in their turn

Guided by their inner calling 

And longing for their flight 

They find their way by Your light. 

Monarchs fly to find the warmth

Floating on the airways waiting out the storms

Finding their way by Your inner pull

Somehow always knowing as they find

The same direction that they need to go. 

There are many things that I don’t understand

Many wondrous places that I have never been

The one thing I know I know

You are the direction that I need to go

Yes, You are the direction that my heart can flow 

You are the direction to go

Just as the earth dances around the sun

The moon on its way

To pull all the seas

The stars finding their paths

Each breath of breeze knows

Which way to blow

His creation is singing the song 

There is only You to show 

You are the direction I need to go

There are many cries from within

Telling us how hard a journey its been 

Callused hearts keep on beating 

Under all their scars

You are the only direction I can go

Yes, You are the direction that my heart can flow

You are the direction to go 

Trusting like this will take me so far

Pushing me past the rough spots 

Gathering me on

Some days will be harder than some 

But always never failing 

You are the direction I need to go

The distance we find so far

Is closer than the beat of our own heart

Its the pull of the direction that I need to flow

How long will we fight it 

Not allowing our hearts to guide us?

Once you feel that inner longing

You have to spread your wings 

In His direction I will go.

Yes, You are the direction I will go 

Angela A