It’s Okay To Ask For Directions!
Lewis Carroll, author of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, said, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” Sound familiar? Alice and the Cheshire Cat,
“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.”
“I don’t much care where —“
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go.”
Let me ask…do you know where it is you want to go? Do you have a plan for how to get there?
I’m not sure where I got it, but I have a great sense of direction. Years ago I got my family out of Washington, DC and headed back home to Philadelphia without a map or a GPS. An amazing feat if you know what it’s like to drive in that part of the country! We knew where we wanted to go, but we had absolutely no plan for how to get there.
Many women I interact with know where it is they want to do go, but struggle with two things: figuring out how they want to get there and asking for direction.
What I find interesting about this well-known conversation between Alice and the Cat is that we seldom see or hear the last part of their dialog.
“—So long as I get somewhere,” Alice added as an explanation.
“Oh, you’re sure to do that,” said the Cat, “if you only walk long enough.”
I’ve always thought this was an interesting conversation. It brings to my mind aimless wandering hoping to arrive at some meaningless somewhere that might mean something.
For those of us on the journey with God, the road we travel is more than wandering with no care about where we end up. Jesus traveled it ahead of us, and he provided us with directions for how to navigate the trek this side of heaven.
Women, we want more than to get somewhere! Ours is a journey to the kingdom of kingdoms where the light and life of Jesus belong to us.
Isaiah 35, Joy of the Redeemed, verses 8 – 10 tell us of our road, it’s not just a road, it’s a highway of holiness:
And a highway will be there;
it will be called the Way of Holiness;
it will be for those who walk on that Way.
The unclean will not journey on it;
wicked fools will not go about on it.
No lion will be there,
nor any ravenous beast;
they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,
and those the Lord has rescued will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
The Hebrew word for highway speaks of a raised road, lifted above the ground.
On earth we won’t make it to the end of this road, but we do have God’s direction as we travel toward it.
I’m urging you to ask for directions! And when you ask, make sure you listen…
The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. ~ John 10:3-4
Make sure God’s word guides the way…
Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. ~ Psalm 119:105
Make sure fellow journeyers are right there with you…
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. ~ Hebrews 10:24-25
Humbly and boldly ask for direction as you travel the Way of Holiness that brings the life Jesus promised:
“…I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
By sharing her personal faith experiences, her thoughts about following Jesus and what it's like being part of his church, she hopes to help some navigate a new journey and challenge those already on the journey as they travel the faith road together.
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“—So long as I get somewhere,” Isn’t that the truth. As long as we are moving ahead, as long as we are striving for something – anything – then it’s ok. And someone, please SOMEONE, tell me where i should go.I often feel like I am one little listen away from God’s direction. If I just stand still long enough…Thx, Ter, for the thoughts to ponder. (And I love that conversation in Alice.)
The conversation between Alice and that cat have always caused me to ponder as well.
Thanks for the sweet memory…My son was in “Alice…” in 3rd grade. He played the caterpillar!
Yes!!! Asking for directions is a must! And setting that time aside, not even to speak to God, but to really listen is so key. Thank you, Terri!
Gretchen, as always, thanks for your encouraging words.
Thanks for the reminder that a personal and everlasting relationship with Jesus and my Heavenly Father is my somewhere.
And when I’m rambling along feeling lost, I just need to stop and focus on their direction for my life.
PS- Used the Alice quote at Weight Watchers a few times as I often felt that people where going through the motions with no plan in place and then got discouraged when they didn’t end up where they thought they should.
Ooops! *were
Not caffeinated yet!
I ask all the time! I just don’t always listen. Trying to be better about being still, though it’s a process, isn’t it? Thanks for your wise words, Terri!