{the roadmap}

All I had was a destination.
All I sought was a roadmap to guide me.
Yet even roadmaps aren’t simple and clear.
A thousand ways, no guarantees.
I could enjoy the ride on the scenic route.
I could speed it up, take the interstate,
follow some other impatient travelers,
go on the fast lane, steady and straight.
Or I could make my journey the adventure it is,
cruising past mountains, the country, the sea.
But there’s more-
twisting high-ways with rest stops,
dirt roads and one-way streets.
Forgotten alleys, a hundred tunnels,
a thousand drives, dead-ends and lanes-
I look at the possibilities,
Should I drive myself, catch a jet, take a train?
Perhaps I shouldn’t have asked for a map,
for I feel more lost than before,
then out the darkness a gentle voice, says

“That’s exactly what I’m here for.
I made the road-map in your hands.
I made each road and byway and street.
Do not fear the path that lies ahead,
for it’s there where you’ll find me.
Have courage my wayfaring pilgrim.
You’ll reach your journey’s end.
If you stumble on the path,
just pick yourself up again.
It doesn’t matter how long it takes,
for you to find your way.
It doesn’t matter if others ahead of you,
reach it sooner by weeks or days.
Theirs is a different journey.
and theirs is a different route.
Keep walking, keep moving, keep seeking.
Don’t fear. Don’t worry. Don’t doubt.
You may read the roadmap wrong,
but you’ll still be moving ahead.
And even if you lose your way,
you can always start over again.”

So I close my little roadmap and I take a deep long breath.
These are directions but not my dictator.
It is God who always knows best.
I look up from the roads and routes,
and see heaven and all that’s beyond.
I remember where I am going.
And the one whose been leading me all along.
I may have this set of instructions, but Jesus never left my side.
He gave me the map in my hands, and he will be my guide.
I cannot see his footsteps, but wherever his pathway leads,
over the highways and hills, his grace will carry me.
I don’t know how long it will take, I can’t foresee the rocks and stones,
but I don’t care if the journey is hard, I know I’m going home.