Now, Which WAY Do We Go?

Road maps ... are very cool things.  A little archaic ... but still ... very cool. 

When you first get one, it's all folded up nice & neat ... pressed flat ... about the size of a rack card.  Generally, it's the person riding shotgun who gets the privilege ... the challenge ... of unfolding ... and reading the map. 

There's something special about unfolding a map for the very first time.  Untucking ... turning ... fanning out the paper ... until it's spread open ... as wide as the dashboard.

And the person in control of the map is rustling it ... crunching it ... trying very hard not to have his hand up under the nose of the driver ... while trying to manipulate the map down to a manageable size ... attempting to locate ... on the map .... where it is you are ... and where EXACTLY you are trying to go.

Generally, at some point, the map is then re-folded haphazardly ... into a square or a rectangle ... that bears no resemblance to the orginal factory-generated fold.  It's easier that way.  To hide from sight ... all of the other roads ... destinations ... to only look at the littler picture ...

It's less confusing that way.

Upon arrival, the roadmap is then stuffed into the glove compartment unceremoniously ... until the next time directions are needed.  Most likely it isn't even unfolded ... from it's new configuration ... because everyone knows that any attempt to refold the map into it's original, pristine shape would prove to be impossible ... so why bother ...

Those were the days.  The good ole days.  Of roadmaps.  And clear directions.

"Now, which way do we go?", Dorothy asked Toto. (Video link)  At the crossroads ... of the yellow brick road ... AND ... the yellow brick road. Toto, of course, didn't know ... which way to go.

From high up on the pole, the Scarecrow responds ... "Of course, people DO go both ways" ... and, well, we all know what happens next ...
they follow the yellow brick road. 


They didn't have a roadmap. Or any of today's navigational tools ... mapquest, GPS, onstar assistance ...

All they had to rely on was help from the new friends ... who were actually old friends ... they encountered along the way ... and the signs & messages that popped up ... from a variety of sources ... guiding them ...throughout their journey.

Signs & messages are fun.  Almost as fun as roadmap folding. 

Last week I was in Hot Springs ... exploring some possibilities for future projects ... looking for some signs ... as to what was coming next.

I took a little time to visit with a friend ...  that I would love to be working with ... on something.  We were sharing about the "which ways" in our lives ... right now  ... and ... trying to figure out ... why it was ... that sometimes where we want to go isn't really where we seem to be heading .... or something like that ...

He is placing some dreams ... some goals ... some projects ... on the back burner ... because they don't seem to be making sense ... or falling into place ... at the moment.

 ... just a little bit of encouragement ... in that area ... would sure go a long way ... to keeping the faith ... that's what he said ... as he was rushing out the door ... with a promise of a little more time the next day ...

So I moseyed on over to see another friend ...  an old friend ... whose glue gun has been riding around in the trunk of my car ... for a little over two years. During our visit, a random introduction was made ... me to another visitor in his store ... it's too soon to tell ... but I am pretty sure there wasn't anything random about it ... it was very cool ...

The next morning ... I shared the story over coffee ... and my discouraged friend stared at me wide-eyed ... and said, "Wow!  How does something like that happen?" followed by "It's interesting how things like that always happen to you...."

It was a message ... to us both ... of encouragement .... of keeping the faith.

Wandered through the Cracker Barrel gift shop on my way out ... and there was a sign propped up against a counter ... it was a sign, all right ... and a SIGN ....

.

I didn't purchase it ... because it was a little pricey ... for words painted on a board ... figure I will make one of my own ... one of these days ...

Still, the message wasn't lost on me!

Later in the week ... a group of people that I have become close to over the last year ... reached their defining moment ... of a year's worth of work & effort.  You know, that moment when everything that you have done is put to the test ... and you have no way of knowing how things will turn out ... until it's all tallyed up.

Ever had one of those moments?!?! 

You know you've done the right thing ... even when it's hard ... you've made the tough choices ... stuck by your morals & values ... taken a beating or two ... wondering if any of it was really worth it ?!?

And then by the closest of margins ... right prevails.  And you know in an instant ... that either way ... it would have been ok ... with you ... because character really does count.

There was no celebration.  Just back to business as usual. The next day, lunch was brought in ... chicken with garlic sauce ... and a fortune cookie. 

Cracked it open ... and there waiting for me was the SECOND best fortune I have ever received in a cookie from a Chinese restaurant ...

Hallelujah!

A simple message.  Just one word. No doubt it was meant for me.

On the way to a picnic yesterday a text exchange took place between me ... and someone that is important me ... but is not really fitting into my life ... not yet.

At times ... I am prompted to send him a word of encouragement ... it's always specific ... even though I have absolutely no idea what's really going on over there in his life ... the prompting is always so strong that I have no choice but to send the message ... even though it feels silly ... foolish ... awkward ...

So, obediently,  I said what I was prompted to say.  It took a little while ... but eventually he responded.

He:  Thank u !

Me:  For ???

He:  Msg's.

Stunned. And amazed.  I was.

All week I have been pondering on the signs & messages ... the now-which-way-do-we-go's ... and out-of-the-blue ... someone says ... to ME ...
"thanks for the messages!"

It was a humbling ... and an encouragement ... all wrapped up in 10 characters or less ...

Later in the afternoon ... I stood in a circle ... holding hands with two of the most important people in my life ... in a beautiful place ... surrounded by virtual strangers ... and we all prayed ... together ... outloud ...

Our Father

Who art in heaven

Hallowed be Thy name ...

Knowing full well that 6 p.m. was going to roll around ... and even though it was May 21, 2011 ... we were ALL going to be "left behind" ....

We were "raptured" ... nonetheless ...

That's right.  We were.  Looked it up.  Just to be sure. Either definition works for me.

rapture:

a: a state or experience of being carried away by overwhelming emotion   

b: a mystical experience in which the spirit is exalted to a knowledge of divine things 

The Bible is full of stories where God says He's going to do something ... and then when He does exactly what He said He was going to do ... it doesn't look anything at all like what the people of the day thought it was going to look like ...

So even though I know that the Bible clearly states that no man will know the day or the hour of Christ's return ... who's to say ... that RAPTURE isn't already taking place ...

... and just not visible ... to our human eyes ...

... maybe it's taking place in our hearts ... right now ...

... it's our souls, after all ... that He's after ... not our physical bodies. 

Rounding out this amazing week ... Iit seems that the little bear has been talking outloud again.  (Read the story, Bear Hugs) This time ... he wasn't talking to me.  Still, it's hard to dispute the message ....
I love you THIS much!

Fourteen times in an hour.  That's what was reported to me. 

He's been sitting there on the shelf ... in that room ... for months ... waiting for exactly the right time ... to offer up  his hope & encouragement. 

One thing's for certain ... He's persistent.  When He is pursuing a relationship with you ... a relationship that will allow you to have your whole heart back. 

Open your heart ... Hear His voice ... He's talking to you ... it's personal ... once you begin to hear His voice nothing in your life will ever be the same ... again.

How many times do you have to be told you are LOVED before you get it ... before you allow yourself to feel it ?!?  If fourteen times isn't enough ... I am pretty sure that the message will come around again ... when you least expect it ... when you need it the most.

Now which WAY do we go?

Doesn't really matter if we have a roadmap ... or a GPS ... or compass ... as long as we listen with our hearts ... as long we are paying attention to the signs & messages along the way ... as long as we are willing to walk awhile with others who share our road ... as long as we hold hands with friends, old & new, as we pray for direction ...

Just follow the yellow brick road ... it's the road that leads to nowhere ... it's the road that leads you home ... doesn't matter which WAY ... really ... it doesn't ... because every road takes you to where it is you are going ... eventually.

I love you THIS much!

It's a way of life ...

Hallelujah!

www.lifelessons-mj.blogspot.com
(c) May 2011



Plans ...

Remember when we were young ... hanging out with friends ... doing whatever young people do.  For us, back in the day when there were only three network channels on the television ... no computers ... no video games ... no cell phones ... faced with a whole day with nothing but our imagination to guide us ... we would take a walk ... go to the mall ... congregate in the McDonald's parking lot ...

... and try to figure out what to do next ... that would be fun & interesting.

Not much has changed ... well, except for all of the distractions ... and the locations ...

We still spend a lot of time trying to figure out what to do next ... that will be fun & interesting ... and we talk it over with our friends ...

Anyway, we would spend all day out in the neighborhood & decide that the best plan was for everyone to sleep over at one house or another ... an all-nighter of a-plottn' & a-plannin' ...

At home, though, our parents had "other" plans ... for us.  So in the end ... we would do what they had planned instead of what we cooked up on our own.

You know, that's one of the reasons we have parents ... to teach us important lessons ... early on ... so that we don't get crossed up later in life.

The lesson here was simple: Don't make plans without checking them out at home first.

Lesson learned ... NOT!

Somehow we don't seem to learn some of those lessons ... the first time ... the second time ... the one-hundred-millionth time ...

Last week I had a great visit with a friend that I haven't seen in quite sometime ... think it might have even been a year ... time sure does fly ... when you're ... busy.

She said, "Last time we talked you were launching your consulting company ... tell me what's you've been doing the past year."

My jaw dropped.  I just stared at her.  Then I said, "You REALLY want to know what I've been doing for the past year?!?!" 

Amazing. Truth is, I know that she really DID want to know all about it.  *sigh*

Where to start.

A year or so ago ... I embarked on a new adventure.  I had given it a lot of thought.  I had prayed about it.  And I had plan.  I even wrote it down.

And I started working that plan ... and it was working!

Then God said, "Hey, MJ!  Go over there. Do that. I know you have a plan but, guess what?!?!  I have OTHER plans for you!"

You see, even though I had checked with Him when I started down the new path ... I got so caught up in the journey that I forgot to check with Him along the way.  Of course, once He pointed out that "detour" sign over there, I knew there was no doubt that I was going to take it.

That's one lesson I HAVE learned ... that whatever God has planned for me is going to be far more amazing than anything I could ever dream up on my own ... even with the help of my friends!

So for about an hour, I caught her up on all that had been going on with me.  The conversation was peppered with ... oh, and this happened ... yeah, well, that's another story ... still she got the overview ... the big picture ...

Then it was her turn.  She began to share what was going on with her.  She had been making progress, too. 

And, yep, she had made a plan!

Hers was a story of an amazing few days she spent in dialogue with her best friend, God.  She shared what was in her heart & asked for His direction. 

He didn't let her down.

At the end of her sojourn, she had a plan ... a written plan ... with His fingerprints all over it.

She shared it with others who are close to her.  And then she started putting it into play.  And things were coming along nicely.  Maybe a little slower than she would have liked ... we are always in such a hurry to get where we are going ... after all ...

God is never in a hurry.

Then life started getting in the way ... of her plan ... she had roadblocks ... distractions ... maybe even a setback or two.  I am not sure because she was giving me the Reader's Digest version, too. 

Still, somehow, things weren't going ... according to HER plan ...

Imagine that!

So she has had to go back ... to regroup ... to say, "Hey, God, I told you what I wanted to do & you said sure go ahead ... so why the delay?!?!"

... and God is shaking  His head ... at her ... at me ... and He is smiling ...the "original" smile that lights up the universe ...

*sigh* ... smiles that light up the universe ... another lesson learned ... another story ...

Sure.  He LIKES our plans.  He even inspired the crafting of them. 

But no matter how hard we try ... or how many times we ask Him ... there's simply no way that we can get it just right ... without any changes ... life doesn't work that way.

We make our plans ... go about our business ... making the choices that need to be made ... to move forward. 

Heck, we can even make GOOD choices ... the RIGHT choices ... and, still, things don't turn out the way we planned.

That's because life always involves other people.  It's all about relationships.  And those other people ... they have plans, too.  And they also get to make their own choices. 

And not everyone checks in to see if their plans are lined up with His plans.

So there we are ... traveling down our road ... with our compass & our map ... our plan securely in place ... when suddenly we encounter a scarecrow ... or a lion ... or a tin man ...

That wasn't really part of our plan ... it wasn't really part of their plans, either ...

And next thing you know ... our plans ... collide with their plans ... and that's when His plan begins to unfold ...

www.lifelessons-mj.blogspot.com
(c) Mary Jane Sawyer, 2010