A Girl and A Map by Amy Smith

Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. Joshua 3:4 (NIV)

May I have a map, please? A paper one. The kind that unfolds wide, and then never quite folds back to its original tidy state.

It is not uncommon for me to purchase a map, or two, before traveling to a new place. I want to know where I am going in the context of where I am. I want to trace the driving route before my plane touches the ground. I want my biggest navigation hurdle to be finding my way out of the rental car parking lot (which is, by the way, more difficult than it sounds). My two children do not yet understand this. “Ask Siri,” they say…direction without context inevitably resulting in panic.

Anna will board a plane by herself (actually, there will be many other passengers and hopefully a crew on the plane, but without her momma) in a few days. She will be fine. She is an adequate navigator. All those trips redirecting her momma (who was busy unfolding her map) will serve her well. In a few months, she will finally have her driver’s license. Our conversations have begun to shift from volleyball seasons to part-time jobs and potential college choices, whether she will go far or stay near, and what on earth we will do with this crazy pup who is attached to her feet. Her brother periodically lands for food or sleep, clean clothes (and always a hug). He is actively, but independently, figuring out his life.

May I have a map, please? A paper one, that unfolds to show me where I am and where I am going. Yes, one like that.

When they are little, it is easy. The pediatrician appointments are scheduled in advance, each vaccine marked on a calendar from birth until kindergarten. As soon as they are willing to open their mouth and say “ahhh…” to a stranger wanting to count their teeth, six-month increments go by based on a little card with a date and a time scratched in ink. School buses, school pictures, Halloween costumes, Christmas breaks, spring breaks, sports seasons, and summertime pass like someone dealing cards for another round. Visits to the Little Chick for new shoes, pencil marks on the door jam in the upstairs closet, tick, tick, ticking their days until I need a chair to see above their now adult-sized heads. Days move rapidly towards another milestone, looking ahead as a momma until…until?

Here I am, without a map and not sure where I am or where I am going.

After forty long, weary years, Joshua chapter 3 describes the scene as the Israelites prepare to advance into the Promised Land. Anticipation and an atmosphere of frenzy stir the letters on the page. You can sense the excitement of the people as they scurry to pack, wondering, maybe even becoming a little anxious as they ready themselves to go where they have never been before. Read the direction provided by Joshua and the leaders in verse 3. “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests who are Levites, carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it.” And in verse 4, “then you will know which way to go since you have never been this way before”.

Watch for the LORD your God, get in line, and then you will know the way to the place you have not been. No map is needed. No misguiding Siri warranted.

Read to see what Joshua tells the people next, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you” (Joshua 3:5 NIV).

There are others who found themselves on an unknown path to an unknown destination. Abraham did not know where he was going [Hebrews 11:8]. Joseph did not know where he was going, nor did David or Esther, Ruth or Jeremiah, not Mary, not Peter, James or John, not even Paul. Each of them got in line, stepped in obedience, and experienced first-hand amazing things the LORD did through them and among them.

She will get on that plane. She will grow up. Soon she will be the driver and I will be navigating our journey with a paper map while she listens not to me, but to Siri. I will be a little lost, for a bit. And it is ok. I have joined a distinguished line-up of those who have gone before me, those that line up with me, and those who will someday make their own journey to the back of the line, to follow a God who knows the way.

• I am without a map, but I am close to the One who has no need for a map [Psalm 32:8].
• I am unsure of where I am going, but my destination has already been prepared for me [John 14:3].
• I cannot see the way, but I am following the One who guides me [Isaiah 43:16].
• I am uncertain of my future, but the One who set my future is not [Jeremiah 29:11].
• I am unqualified to do amazing things, but I am created to do good works as part of an amazing story [Ephesians 2:10, 2 Timothy 3:1].

Drop the silly map. Get in line. Keep your eyes on the One who knows where you are going. Be prepared for amazing things.

“This is what the past is for! Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives is the perfect preparation for the future that only He can see.” - Corrie Ten Boom

Amy Straley is a single momma of almost grown-up kids, making her way through life by following Jesus. Amy ‘s feet are planted in beautiful West Michigan. When she is not buried in her work or at the kitchen sink, she spends her time outdoors exploring. You can discover more of Amy’s writing at http://astraley.net/.