It is easy to get lost. Snow covers the streets, dramatically changing the landscape. Distractions show up on every corner, drawing one's attention away from the things that are close and important to the heart. Pressures mount, the weight on the one's shoulders increasing to the point of breaking, making the act of stumbling seem like a positive step forward. Everything pushes one to wonder what the point of the journey really is, where the destination lies.
In the middle of disasters and problems at every corner, I do not have an answer for anyone, not even myself. There is little comfort I can offer to the person huddled in the doorway of a closed store. I find myself at a loss for words when I watch a parent, overcome by stress, verbally lash out at an innocent child. I wonder about fairness and opportunity as I participate in eliminating jobs in the community that I work and live. Are there any directions that will last in this present world?
It is too easy to be the skeptic. Doing nothing affirms the negative. Doing something often seems to be a fruitless exercise. However, I often find myself wondering at the lack of logic and reason.
Yet, there is an answer. The solution lies in the choice that you and I must make each day. We can make the difference. I rediscover this often. Watching the amazement that came across a fellow passenger on a flight from Athens when I offered him my copy of a paper he was looking for. Accepting the heart thanks from a stranger who responded to a simple act of courtesy.
Our opportunity is there; we can work to be “carrying out the orders of God.” (Romans 16.26) What are these orders? To love, give mercy, share kindness, and show compassion to the people who come by us on the journey. This directive is the guiding arrow we seek.
I find that following these directions is not something that gets me to a specific destination; rather it is a way of traveling.
