A Compass

Recently, while camping, Brenda and I hiked a trail we'd never been on before, but we'd heard about it and seen some beautiful pictures of it.

At the ranger station they provided us with a map, then asked us to sign our names on a list and note what time we left on the hike and told us to be sure and checkout when we returned, which we both thought was kind of odd.

Then, they explained, "We've had people get lost and we had to mount a search party to find them."

That omen meant nothing to us. We've hiked lots of trails over the years and never gotten lost even without a map.

BUT, an hour and a half later (when we expected the hike to last only an hour), we started getting concerned.

Pointing at a tree, Brenda said, “I made a photo of that when we hiked in.”

Immediately, we knew we were in trouble.

I checked and rechecked the map. What was confusing was there were four trails on the map and multiple connecting trails between all of them.

We turned around and started retracing our steps but only went a few hundred yards when I realized we were completely turned around (a man’s euphemism for LOST). I'm smart enough to know that if you get lost in the woods, you need to sit down and wait for rescuers to find you. Don't keep traveling blindly.

I was about to tell Brenda this when it dawned on me, I had a compass on my phone.

Whipping it out, I immediately figured out which path to take. We made it out easily, although, it was a much longer hike than we'd planned.

So, let me ask you: what do you do when you realize you're lost?

I don't mean lost on a hike. I mean, when you've lost your way in life, when calamity has struck and left you completely disoriented and confused.

When that happens to me, I look to three things.

First of all, I turn to God. I pray hard, I scour His Word, and I listen for direction from Him.

After that, I turn to two things: friends and family. I want to seek counsel from people who walk with God and will be honest with me. I'm very blessed to have people in my life who have both traits.

Getting lost is easier than one might think. The important thing is to not stay lost.

Don’t keep wandering aimlessly.

Find yourself a compass.

* Taken from The Wit and Wisdom of David Johnson, Volume I1: The Hairy Catfish Caper.