Psalm 119:105

Your Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

GPS once saved my marriage. Figuratively speaking, of course.

The exact year is a little fuzzy, but it was before smartphones were a thing. Printed MapQuest driving directions and that newfangled Garmin GPS were the norm, so I’m guessing around 2007 or 2008. Definitely toward the beginning of our marriage.

We were headed to the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC, to see the gingerbread houses. Each year, the Grove Park Inn hosts a national gingerbread house competition, and the entries are astounding. Even eight-year-olds make better houses than me. But I digress.

Frank was driving and I was supposed to be navigating (I’m a bit directionally challenged, for anyone who might be wondering). I had my printed directions in my lap and all was well until we got to a very confusing intersection near the hotel.

“It says in 0.2 miles to turn left.”

“Turn left? Not veer left?” The uncertainty in my husband’s voice raised an alarm bell in me. It wouldn’t be the first time I got us lost.

“That’s what it says. Turn left.”

“Is there a road name?”

“Nope. Just says turn left.”

We drove a little further. Neither of us had any clue how far 0.2 miles actually was.

“Are you sure we were supposed to turn left?”

Now, I may be directionally challenged, but I can assure you, dear readers, that I can read.

“Yes. It says it right here. Turn left onto this mysterious road without a name and drive 0.3 mile to Macon Avenue.”

“Here, let me see it.”

“No, you’re driving.”

“I just want to see what it says.”

Rankled at his disbelief in my ability to read driving directions, I began to get snippy. “I just told you what it says.”

And on it went. Y’all, we must have passed this mysteriously unmarked (and I’m still convinced, imaginary) side road at least a dozen times. I’ll spare you the details, but our little marital spat got worse and worse. It ended with neither of us speaking to the other and Frank driving directly to Target.

Without a word, he got out of the car, slammed the door and stomped inside. I was fuming but curious what would compel him to go to Target when we were supposed to be a young couple in love and staring at gingerbread marvels; so I, too, got out of the car, slammed the door, and followed him inside. He went straight to the electronics, grabbed a $100 Garmin GPS that we definitely could not afford at the time, and purchased it.

Did we make it to the gingerbread houses? No. No, we did not. However, with our trusty Garmin (and then later Google Maps) we also never argued over driving directions again (And if we did, we blamed it on the technology).

I don’t have to tell you the world we live in is chaotic. It’s messy and confusing and stressful. That realistic-looking news article? It could totally be fake. That book you just bought? Could definitely have been written by AI. Every day, news of attacks and political upheaval worldwide blanket my computer screen. Things change at a dizzying speed, but you know what never changes? What stays constant in this incredibly unstable world? God’s word and His love for us.

I suppose we’re all born spiritually “directionally challenged.” But God loves us too much to let us wander for long. He’ll leave the 99 and run to grab us when we’re lost. And the more we’re in his Word, the more we recognize His voice and His work in our lives, the clearer our direction. The road is often treacherous, but He is our constant. His Word is a light unto our feet and a light unto our paths. The spiritual GPS for a very lost world.

Have you gotten lost recently? (Spiritual or otherwise!) How’d you get straightened out?