We just couldn’t stop talking. All three of us were so excited to talk about and debate all the things we learned and heard at the conference we had just been to that we were hardly paying attention to the road signs along the drive. Dave drove into Colorado on the way to the conference (in Colorado Springs), Jon was now driving out of Colorado on the way home and I got the long boring part through Nebraska! So, while we were busy talking and debating, we were approaching Denver and had to change interstates soon so Jon quickly interrupted “Now am I supposed go to 70?” Dave, also very quickly, replied “Yeah. 270.” And back to our lively banter we went as Jon proceeded to take I-70. We were so intent on our discussion that we paid no attention to the road signs, what-so-ever!
Well, two and a half hours later, Jon pipes up “Uh…guys. Did we go through Kansas on the way there?” “Kansas!?” Dave replied. “No.” Sheepishly, Jon continuted, “Uh…well…we’re in Kansas now.” “WHAT!? Why are we in Kansas!?” we both shouted. “I don’t know. We just are!”
Well, after a few minutes of confused bewilderment, we figured out where we went wrong. We were too busy talking and debating that 1) we didn’t clarify exactly what road we need to take (“270″ not “to 70″) and 2) we didn’t pay attention to any other road signs indicating where we were nor where we were heading.
We all know that we need to follow the road signs while were driving. We all know that we need to be clear on our directions or we’ll get lost. We all know that it’s our actual direction that gets us to our destination, not just our intentions. And, we never really plan on getting lost, we just suddenly find ourselves in the middle of it because we were too focused on what’s going on inside of the car.
But we forget that it’s the same with life. We forget to clarify what our desired direction is. Instead, we just drift…follow the cars (people) in front of us. We forget to make sure that our choices and steps (which determine our direction) are in line with our original intentions. We want to be in shape but we continue to eat unhealthy and not exercise. We want to have deep relationships but we continue to fill our calendar with busy-ness and ignore the opportunities to be connect with the people right in front of us. We want to make the right choices but we continue to hang around the same people or put ourselves in the places that we know are bad for us. We want to know God and the Word more but we continue to spend all our time on Facebook, riding 4 wheelers, chasing deer, watching movies or looking for that next thrill.
It’s the choices we make everyday that puts us on the path we’re traveling. As Andy Stanley says, “It’s our direction, not our intentions, that determine our destination.”
So let’s all aks ourselves, “Where am I heading?”
