This week I had dinner with a friend in Glastonbury.  She’s a fellow UCC Pastor from Connecticut who I had met and befriended when we both were serving churches in Mass.  She happened to be in the area for a meeting, so I made time to head up there to see her and we had a marvelous time catching up.  By now I’ve been to Glastonbury several times and arrogantly thought that even though there’s construction and detours around town, I can totally get home in the dark without my GPS!  Certainly I know my way back home by now.

Long story short, I ended up in Portland.  I didn’t even know there was a Portland, Connecticut—Portland, Oregon is amazing!  But there you go, learned something new.  It would have probably been a scenic detour if it wasn’t pitch black and I could actually see the area.  Nevertheless, I realized that I needed some help here, turned on my GPS, and made it back to Colchester later than I should have.  So much for my sense of direction!

Sometimes I think this is how we are when it comes to faith.  We think we’re ready to venture out on our own and we don’t need a GPS, we’ll figure this out alone!  The GPS could be our faith community, scripture, a grounded relationship with Christ, etc.  The point is that we go out on our own and may realize the hard way that we are lost.  Totally and completely lost.  We need some help here!  And that’s when it takes humility to seek that lifeline in order to get home where we belong.  So thank you, God, for those moments of humility to admit when we are lost and to ask you for help,  and thank you for literal GPSs as clearly mine remains invaluable.

(This Week’s Thoughts 8.4.17)

Photo by Rev. Lauren Lorincz.