It was during a recent road trip that I realized a valuable lesson. Just because the technology you’re relying on for directions says one thing..it’s not necessarily accurate. Therefore, by obeying what the application is telling you, there’s still room to trust your gut. In our case, the old reliable feeling of trusting the gut came too late.

Last week we drove to Indiana, departing from DeWitt about 8:00 pm after watching our granddaughter’s softball game. Our destination was Fremont Indiana where I had reserved a hotel room. Our plan was to open the hotel’s app on my IPhone once we crossed into Indiana and have GPS navigate us to our location which would have us arrive about 11 pm. Unfortunately, in hindsight, we probably should have opened the app sooner because the route that was given put us on a highway heading in the opposite direction for at least 15 miles before we could turn back in the correct direction. In full disclosure, late night driving, being tired, getting bad directions, and the inconvenience of added time and miles to an otherwise easy trip is a strain on nerves and emotions. Because we had no other alternative, we stayed the course that “Siri” was announcing and arrived at our hotel safely, very tired, upset with one another and with the information GPS fed us.

Our experience reminded me of the account in Genesis about the Israelites being set free from slavery in Egypt, getting across the Red Sea with miraculous results, entering the desert and being there for 40 years. Their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land was about 250 miles which meant they could have covered their route in a matter of months. Instead, according to scripture and scholars, finding themselves wandering in the Sinai Peninsula came from a disobedience against God, lack of faith in His guidance, too. Their 40 year delay in entering the Promised Land served as a reminder of the consequences of disobedience.  Yet, in those same years they did learn survival was impossible without God’s provision and guidance. Their journey through the desert is a powerful story of enduring lessons about faith, obedience, and God’s faithfulness in providing for His people. Today, thousands of years later, we can glean our own lessons from their experiences as we reflect on our journey through life.

What lessons can we learn? We need to depend on God. There are consequences to disobedience towards God. There is an importance of faith. God will meet needs even when we have strayed from His plan.

When we opened the application to get directions to our hotel, we were trusting in the information. We got on the highway heading west even though we knew we needed to be going east. We ignored Siri’s prompt to make a U-turn as those maneuvers on a toll road are illegal. We stayed the course even though we sputtered at one another or sat in silence waiting for each prompt telling us where to turn. Thankfully, although we had traveled 15 miles out of our way, we did arrive at our destination. All it cost us was some negative emotions and a $2 toll fee.

I’m chuckling now. It’s safe to do so now that our experience is behind us. A half hour delay really wasn’t worth the arguments we created from being weary and frustrated.

Now, we have a good story to tell even though the mystery remains as to why “Siri” launched us west instead of east. I imagine the Israelites had plenty more good stories to tell after 40 years of desert life. Like, have you heard the one about how God parted the Red Sea so we could escape Pharoah? Or, did you know there’s a lot of recipes for eating manna, this funny dew-like wafer that only lasts for 24 hours? Or, we never had to shop for clothes and our feet never swelled from all the walking and heat…somehow our wardrobe never wore out.

Moses had the original GPS applications of all mankind, God Himself. Today, we have Siri and other maps with voice activation to direct us. But, we still have God.  He is absolutely reliable. The others remain questionable at times. Both will get us to our destination. Both will reward us with stories to tell about our experiences along the way!

It’s been my practice of late that after morning dew has evaporated from our deck chairs, coffee in hand, I enjoy some of my first hour sitting in the quiet that a new day offers. With the exception of numerous birds flying back and forth from our trees to those of neighbors, our neighborhood is quiet. By the time I rise I think most of the folks in the homes near us have already left for work. Even though it’s summer vacation from school, there are no children playing outside. I think the kids who do live near us are older now, the ages where they maybe prefer the comfort of air conditioning versus riding bikes or playing outside in July’s heat. Which brings me to my next thoughts. July has been a bit brutal.

As I work in a few flower beds that I maintain, I am beginning to notice some of my flowers have succumbed to recent temperatures, regardless of consistent watering and care. Once vibrant blooms that flourished under June’s beautiful weather, now lay limp or dried out no matter the attention I’ve given them. July’s heat has also caused numerous unwanted grasses to grow and thrive around plants, thus creating more work to keep clear and clean, carefully planning what time of day to work without collapsing in a heap from the sun’s scorching rays.

On a positive note, the two tomato plants on our deck are doing great! Flower buds have made the turn to green fruit. Careful pruning along with watering and fertilizing are giving me hope we will have a nice harvest when the fruit turns juicy red. We are also keeping close watch for any of those nasty worms that can strip a tomato plant bare in the matter of 24 hours.

My devotion reading this morning (Wednesday) was from Jeremiah 18: 1-6. In these verses, God is giving Jeremiah–a prophet–a visual description of His relationship with Israel, describing His sovereignty over them and His ability to remake or reshape them as He sees fit. These few sentences offer a beautiful image of a potter carefully shaping a lump of clay into a vessel that is pleasing to him, and useful. When properly applied to our own life, we can imagine ourselves as a lump of clay being molded and shaped into a beautiful vessel for God’s purposes. As easy as it may sound, therein lies the rub, transformation can be slow and difficult, especially when a prideful or rebellious heart is in opposition to the work of God’s hands trying to mold and reshape our sinful nature.  This is why I love the words from 1 Corinthians 13: 7 “It (love) always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres”. This promise from proper love offers encouragement for every person seeking to find comfort in our world and above all, a relationship with the living God.

Birds singing. A gentle breeze ushering in the coming heat of another July day. Clouds enshrining the morning sun in the east. These and more of God’s creation fill my morning. Along with those things, I smiled in amusement as I opened the door to sit on our deck with a cup of coffee. Perched on the deck railing was a young robin. He or she was still sporting baby feathers on top of its head. Startled by my presence as it flew away I could tell it was still learning the mechanics of flight. Mom was waiting for her youngster on the edge of a flower bed and for a few moments, baby and mom “chatted”. Maybe mom was saying “good job flying!” or “see, I told you there’s other creatures around our yard and sometimes they appear without notice”. Hopefully, mom and baby will come to know I am not a threat to them. On the contrary, I like to imagine that our lil family of robins is aware that they matter to God and they, like me, like you, have purpose. As proclaimed in Psalm 19: 1 “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.”

Lumps of clay. Skies that are a canvas for God’s handiwork. Heat from July’s sunny hot days. All have a purpose. Each point us heavenward to proclaim God’s glory.  Be safe during these hot summer days. May you grasp that you have a heavenly Father waiting to cheer you on–”good job!” and that He will love, guide, and instruct you in preparation for every day under the sun.