Once Upon a Time...

The sun was sparkling and the countryside was beautiful and fresh. The trip to the job seemed more “productive” than the job itself. Although it was Friday, we were most definitely on a “Sunday drive.” As the countryside lapsed and we drove into town, we made our way to our destination. Stephanie, our official navigator, read aloud the next direction on her paper, “Turn right onto unnamed street.” We broke out into laughter and shouts of “What!?” We were in an unfamiliar territory and the directions advised us to turn onto “unnamed street.” After the initial raucous, we soon found the job and we were on our way. We drove away proud that we found our destination via “unnamed street.”

At the risk of sounding cheesy, I couldn’t help but notice the analogy. The term “unnamed street” brought tears to my eyes. Sometimes God instructs us to turn down the unnamed street. We throw our hands up in disbelief. Yet, we keep driving. We may need to stop for directions or make a few wrong turns, but our journey continues. In order to reach the desired destination, we need to follow that direction- skipping it or ignoring it won’t get us where He wants us to be.

I hate unnamed street. I hate that God makes us drive there. I hate that the turn often seems gratuitous. I hate that He’s right and, in retrospect, that was how we needed to get where we are. I hate that He knows its name and I don’t. I hate that sometimes our friends are the ones navigating through unnamed street.

Lately, God’s seemed distant and ambiguous- Ambiguous? Distant? I’m pretty sure that these are not His true attributes. Yet, the last few days, I saw God through His people. I saw how the Body is designed to work. I observed, participated, and praised God for “driving companions.” We weren’t designed to brave the frustrating street solo.