Recently I was blessed to go on a road trip with my youngest daughter. Just the two of us. For those who are new here, I have 6 kids. Any 1 on 1 time is challenging to find, much less 2 whole days of 1 on 1 time. It was so fun to drive down the highway, top-down, radio blasting. I learned a few things on this trip and I want to share them with you.
Stay Focused
As I watched my GPS on the dash of my car I was reminded of Matthew 7:13-14.
Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
Now, please don’t take this analogy too deep. I know it has some flaws 🙂
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
His word will show us the way. And if we spend time in prayer and listening for His answers we will hear the Holy Spirit direct us as we move forward. We also need to make sure we are listening to the right voice. Compare what you’re “hearing” to the word of God. Paul, an apostle, said in Galatians 1:8
But even if we or an angel from Heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you let him be accursed.
I’ve had to look at my GPS before because I thought I heard Siri say “Turn right.”, but I had already looked at the GPS and was pretty sure that it showed “turn left.” So I turn left because that is what the GPS shows. Make sure what you’re hearing lines up with God’s word – the God Positioning System. Have you ever gone somewhere, but you’re still using GPS because you aren’t super confident in your memory? Do you do that with your Bible? God’s Positioning System is a great resource, when you think you know what God would say about a situation make sure you check your GPS. Even if you quit listening and decide to do what you think is best, God is still there. He is ready to show you the U-turn to make. Ready to help you get back on the path. Don’t worry, he doesn’t just tell you “proceed to route, proceed to route” over and over until you find His path again.
As you drive down the highway there are all kinds of signs. Signs that direct you on how to go down the highway – speed limit signs, merge signs, etc. Signs that show you places to see, foods to eat, and favorite restaurants coming up, all enticing you to stop along the way. Just a short detour along your trip. However, on this particular road trip I had not only a destination but a specific time. We were to be in Massachusetts by 4:00 pm for a celebration of life. So I had set goals for when and how long we would stop. The GPS showed an arrival time so every time I saw a sign for something enticing I would look over and remind myself we don’t have time for that. We have a destination and a deadline. In life, we have so many distractions from God. Maybe even some of the same ones. Places to go, people to see, restaurants to eat at. I’m not saying you can’t do any of those things. But we need to check our GPS destination and deadline and make sure it is helping us get there, or at the very least not hindering our final destination.
Block it out
As we go through life, some distractions are not as easy to block out. Sometimes it is the huge bug that splattered right in your line of sight.
I kept going back and forth about whether I should go on this trip. Was I going for my benefit or the family of the one who had passed from this life way too soon? Would I be able to encourage the family? If so, it was well worth the trip!
The worries about if I was making the right decision and if I was spending my resources in the wisest of ways followed me onto the road. I also have a history of falling asleep while driving. I don’t let it get that far anymore, I pull over and make someone else drive. But this time I had no back up. It was just me and a 5-yr-old.
We had two options for our mode of transportation. A 13 passenger van, or a 2004 VW bug that has a check engine light on and a couple of other dash lights on. It had cut out on me a few days earlier and I had to let it sit before I could restart it. Oh, and it has 284,740 miles on it. And the roof leaks so if it was gonna rain I had to take that into consideration as well. So which one did I take?
VW Bug! With the information above you may think I’m crazy, and you may be right. However, I knew it would get better gas mileage and most importantly I knew that with the top down and the wind in my face, I would be much less likely to fall asleep. A risk I was happy to minimize. So we put on our jackets, tied our hair back, put the top down, and hit the road. With the wind in our faces and the radio blasting songs of praise, it was easy to just focus on the trip ahead of us. It’s hard to worry and stress and second guess everything in my life, if I’m listening and singing along to praise songs.Â
Just as this worked on my road trip, it works in life. I guarantee your day will be easier to handle if you play and sing worship songs. I have a station on my Pandora that is acapella, now it’s not foolproof, there are other songs that come up too. For the most part, though it’s good clean songs that help me block out the distractions. I also have discovered a few playlists on YouTube. Just remember, easier to handle doesn’t mean easy. It doesn’t mean God will block all the bugs from hitting your windshield, but he is there to help you clean them up.
Show some love
On my road trip I only had one buddy. We sat side by side. With the wind noise, there wasn’t a lot of opportunity for talking. But we sat side by side and sang together. She held my hand if not my whole arm for most of the seven hours there and back. Now this girl claims to have huge love tanks and she freely walks around loving on everyone. It was a joy to be on this trip with her and get to fill her love tanks a little bit while she filled mine to overflowing.
Don’t forget that we are called to build up, edify, and encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ. Hebrews 10:24-25
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
Love on those around you. We all know that this path is hard. It is hard to keep going at times. Reach out to encourage and love on those around you. It is easier to stay on the path if you have others to walk with. When you grow weary they can cheer you on. Maybe sometimes we even need to be willing to carry those on this path with us until they have the energy to go on.Â
I am one blessed momma! This time with my daughter was such a blessing in my life. Not only was I able to bond with my girl, but I was also able to soak up some encouragement from God as I sang His praises and listened to His nudgings on my heart and mind.Â
How are you intentional in listening to God? Do you have a time God reached you even if you weren’t searching?
Meet Melinda!
Melinda is a Christian, a wife, and a mom of 6. She has a blended family and has spent much time trying to learn how to "mom". She's still not perfect, but it makes her that much more grateful for God's grace and mercy in her life.