Directionally Challenged

“The Lord is my best friend and my shepherd. I always have more than enough. He offers a resting place for me in His luxurious love. His tracks take me to an oasis of peace, the quiet brook of bliss. That’s where He restores and revives my life. He opens before me pathways to God’s pleasure and leads me along in his footsteps of righteousness so that I can bring honor to his name. Lord, even when your path takes me through the valley of deepest darkness, fear will never conquer me, for You already have! You remain close to me and lead me through it all the way. Your authority is my strength and my peace. The comfort of Your love takes away my fear. I’ll never be lonely, for You are near. You become my delicious feast even when my enemies dare to fight. You anoint me with the fragrance of Your Holy Spirit; You give me all I can drink of You until my heart overflows. So why would I fear the future? For Your goodness and love pursue me all the days of my life. Then afterward, when my life is through, I’ll return to Your glorious presence to be forever with You!” Psalm 23. How did I even get here? I want my money back because this compass is B R O K E N! I was on my way up to the mountain, and now I find myself in this valley, completely turned around and lost. Ok, let me close my eyes, take a deep breath and gather myself before I have a slight freak out moment. Why in the world am I so directionally challenged? Hold on, directionally challenged, or should I say, challenged in the direction that I’m going. I see what you did there, Lord. You’ve brought me to a place of quiet bliss, and I was too frustrated that I wasn’t where I wanted to be to see what was right in front of me. Let me sit here for a while to rest my weary legs and refresh my parched soul. Ah yes, this is where I feel peace. But wait, this place is unfamiliar, I’m unsure of where this pathway will take me, plus it’s dark over there and I don’t like the dark. Did I even bring batteries for my flashlight? Yea no, not doing it, not walking down that way. Hmm, well, I do know that with Your guiding hand I don’t have to be afraid right? You’ll lead me through the shadow of this vast valley before me. I am SO thankful that You’re my guide because my compass is absolutely fired from the job. I take comfort in the fact that You know where You’re leading me, there is a peace in knowing that You’re the ultimate guide in this journey I’m on. It’s funny you know, I’ve thought that this journey would bring immense loneliness, but with You close by, I’ve never felt the cold grip of loneliness. Sorry, my stomach is growling. This perilous journey has left me hungry, but my goodness do You feed me well! I’ve thought that I would faint from hunger during some of the tougher parts of this journey, but there You are, food in hand waiting for me as if you knew it was exactly what I needed without me even saying a word. Your goodness astounds me. You keep reminding me that You won’t lead me astray, even though many a time I’ve often questioned that as we’ve journeyed on. I’ve even tried to take some “shortcuts”, boy was I wrong, they were quite the opposite. And yet, I turn the corner, frustrated at my “shortcut” only to see you standing there laughing, patiently waiting for me to get back on track with You. Why did I ever think that my way was the right way when I haven't even been on this trail before? I left my compass in the valley, it’s no longer needed. You are the only compass I need. The guiding light in the darkest of valleys, even when fear tries to grip me You quickly come to my aid. And then, before I know it, You’ve led me straight to the mountain top. You prepared a place for me, a most glorious of places, never in my wildest dreams could I have ever imagined it. I look out now over the valley from where I came, to the babbling brook that quenched my thirst, the winding narrowing twists, and turns that see truly insignificant as I see the full picture. It was worth it. Truly. And You were with me every step of the way, even if it didn’t seem that way. Here’s to the many more mountains and valley’s, lead the way.