Where Am I Going?

If you don’t know where you’re going, you probably won’t get there. That sounds obvious, but even in the everyday, simple things of life, it can be a little bit of a challenge to figure out your destination and the best path to get there.

Suppose, for example, if someone were to be headed to church for a youth meeting, and instead started driving to work without thinking about it, even though it was a Sunday evening. That person would not have made it to the church if she had not suddenly asked, “Where am I going?”

In life, you have to decide where you want to go before you start moving in one direction or another. If you don’t have a goal, you will waste a lot of time and energy doing things you don’t really care about.

With summertime in northern Indiana comes construction. Even though I know that my usual route to work is blocked off, it took a few times driving to a dead end street before I learned to turn at the intersection prior to the construction site.

You have to learn from your mistakes. Everyone messes up, and you definitely won’t go anywhere if you never leave the house. Just be sure to adjust your route to match changing circumstances.

When trying desperately to find the location for a wedding a few weeks ago, I easily found the park where the wedding was going to take place. Since it was a county park, however, covering several miles of trails and supporting half a dozen pavilions, I was still lost and the wedding was 15 minutes away. I found out I had driven right past the correct pavilion and had to turn around.

Things are not always what they seem. Even when you think you have it all figured out, it may take some adjustment and advice to get to where you want to go. Even when you’re scared, if you push through it you’ll be successful.

I had received secondhand instructions to get to a ballpark in a neighboring city. My GPS took me to Greene Dr. instead of Greene Rd. When I found Greene Rd., I didn’t know if I should head north or south. Since one way was a dead end, guessing and testing finally got me to my destination. It took me nearly 45 minutes to get to somewhere about 20 minutes away.

Avoid dead ends, and don’t trust your life to electronic devices. As useful as phones, TVs, and computers are, they can zap a lot of time that could be used to spend time with people and pursue worthwhile goals.

When traveling to another city to visit an art fair, I let my friend drive. She had no idea where we were traveling to. She had to rely on me to get most of the way there, and we followed my sister the rest of the way. Once we arrived, we needed people to direct us to the nearest parking area.

Don’t be afraid to rely on other people to get you where you need to go. As much as I respect Simon and Garfunkel, no man is a rock, or an island. Instead, we “get by with a little help from [our] friends.”