On my way back from my aunt's house, I wanted to stop in Portland for a meeting. I had written out the directions on a post-it note but couldn't find where I had put it. So here I am, on I-5, unable to call anyone because it's illegal to use your cell phone while driving in Washington, and trying to remember the directions I'd written. As soon as I cross the Columbia River which divides Oregon and Washington, I call my friend, Julie, who gets into my e-mail and finds the address I had sent myself. On the phone with her, she gives me the directions to where I need to go but I get very lost anyway. Still on the phone, we try to figure out where I am at and where I need to go. Several times of turning around, the car dying, and several choice words later, we know I am nearby where I need to go. At the top of my frustration level, she gives me the number of where I need to be and I call them. My friend, who is hosting the meeting, picks up the phone and I try to relay to her where I am at. While I put her on hold for a moment to accept a substitute request call, she goes outside where I look up to see her crouched on the sidewalk waving at me. She tries to tell me where to go to park and I invite her into the car which she accepts. From there it is simply a turn around the corner and I park on the street. Relieved, we walk to her house together and she welcomes me inside where smiling faces are waiting.
I was thinking about the experience on the way home and thought that being on the phone with my friend was a lot like living under the sacrificial system in the Old Testament. You know where you are supposed to be but still feel rather lost and make a lot of wrong turns trying to get there. Then Jesus comes along side us, gets in the car with us, and no longer being alone, brings us right home, exactly where we need to be, with smiling faces welcoming us when we get there. And where is "there"? "There" is a life lived free and let me tell you, it is so much easier finding your way there when you listen to someone who has been there before.
365-09 #312Labels: 365-09 Challenge