Feeling a Bit Lost?
Have you ever felt lost? I’m slightly directionally challenged, and before GPS there were times I’d be driving and suddenly I was in a town or city where I hadn’t planned on being. Sometimes that was scary, sometimes inconvenient, and sometimes it was fun as I discovered new places.
I accepted this about myself and used it for my benefit. When I moved to a new location, I’d just drive around, get lost and find my way home (with the help of a map) repeatedly. After doing that a few days, I had a pretty good mental map of the area and would no longer get lost or need to refer to a paper map very often.
The thing is, I had a goal, a destination. Even though I didn’t take the most direct path, I was not wandering aimlessly; although, if anyone was watching, it might have appeared to them like I was. I had a destination in mind, I just didn’t know the route to get there. Sometimes my life feels like that.
There have been seasons in my life where I’ve found myself in totally unknown, unfamiliar territory – like when my son was reacting to every food I fed him and I had no idea what was going on or what to do. Or when it was obvious he had significant developmental delays and major sensory issues that prevented us from going to most public indoor spaces and turned our lives and routines upside down. Not even upside down, it obliterated any type of normality.
It was just like showing up in a town where I hadn’t expected to be and having no idea how to get to my destination. Only, there was no map for reference to find my way. I just had to try one route and see if it got me where I wanted to go. And if it didn’t, try another.
Does this doctor have answers? No. Okay, how about that doctor? No. Well, what about this therapy or that intervention? No answers in western or allopathic medicine? How about in alternative medicine? And I just kept wandering, referencing various research, and trying different routes until we made progress in the direction of our desired destination – the ability to eat foods without reactions, improve cognitive function, and stabilize or decrease sensory sensitivities.
Wandering, feeling lost, and not having clear direction feels uncomfortable. It’s scary. Thankfully, I have a personal relationship with God who loves me, knows all, and sees all.
Even though I may feel lost and not know where I am or how to get where I’d like to be. He knows. He knows not only my practical needs, the destination He has in mind for me, but also what my heart, mind, and soul need along the way. If I stick with Him, ask for, and follow His guidance, not only will I get to the destination He has planned for me, I’ll be a better person when I get there. (If you don’t know Him, I’d be happy to introduce you.)
I’ll leave you with a poem I love from Corrie Ten Boom. If you don’t know Corrie’s story, she was a Dutch lady who helped shelter Jews during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. She went to a concentration camp for it and lived to tell her story. So, she knows a bit about dark, hard circumstances in life when you don’t understand and don’t know what’s ahead on the journey. Her book The Hiding Place is a worthy read!
To download your own copy of this poem, click here.
