Off course but on track

i recently took a road trip with my family.  we traveled through 6 states over 8 days, attended a wedding, ate at cracker barrel 4 times, rode camels, visited a farmers market, swam in the ocean, stopped at a zoo, hung out with friends and family, met new friends and played hot potato at a rest stop among other things.

being the planner that i am, i made a traveling book.  it was divided with colorful dividers signifying each leg of the trip.  in each section i noted how many miles traveled, what we could do in each state and included map and directions.  i also pointed out which states we would be traveling through.  

imagine my surprise when we stopped for gas and saw a virginia lottery sign.  that was NOT in my book.  according to my calculations, we were in tennessee!  i make no defense about the fact that it is very unlikely that i know where something is unless i have been there.  i have never been to virginia.  so ,as far as i knew, we were hundreds of miles off course.

jim had been driving this leg and merely driven where i had instructed him to go.  oops.

first i wondered why tennessee had a virginia lottery sign hanging in one of it's stores.  it was worth a shot.  i asked the clerk what state i was in,  she said virginia.  

shoot.....(snapping fingers)  she then asked me if i was traveling north or south, to which i responded east.  after she told me that neither highway through this town goes east or west, only north and south, i decided to check my book.

turns out that on our way from tennessee to north carolina ,on this particular route, there is a mountain range that does not allow you to continue east.  you must dip up into virginia for just a bit and then back down into north carolina continuing east again.  whew...

it got me to thinking about how God always knows where we are even if we don't.  here we are, planning away our lives and then all at once, we can look up and wonder how we got where we are.  how did I get here?   where did I get off course?  where am i headed now? we ponder around, confused and disillusioned.  trying to find our way on our own, reasoning how we got here in the first place.  trying to make sense of it on our own, sometimes taking others with us!

going back to the book , God's Word, we can easily see why we have been led to or away from where we thought we were going.  then, we get back on course again.  God always knows where we are and where we are headed.  He keeps us on track no matter what "state" we are in.

Ps 32:8 The Lord says," I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you."

Ps 48:14 "For that is what God is like. He is our God forever and ever, and He will guide us until we die."

Ps 73:23-24 "Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand. you guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny."

Is 58:11 "The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring."

Luke 1:78-79 "Because of God's tender mercy, the morning light from Heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace."

*photos are the virginia lottery sign that i saw and me nervously referring to my well planned travel book :)