The Bible Is Our Road Map

Yesterday, Matthew and I went to a large costume store in the north of the city to look for medieval costumes. As a family we have been asked to lead the children's worship on Friday night and Saturday morning of a Children's Spring Retreat in March. The theme: knights.

While I drove, Matthew directed me using a printed Google map in his hand. After forty-five minutes of driving, I turned to Matthew and said, "We should have been there by now."

Matthew responded, "I know what I am doing. Trust me."

I didn't trust him, but I went along with his directions anyways.

Finally, fifteen minutes later, Matthew looked around and sheepishly admitted, "I don't know where we are. The map is wrong!"

I wanted to laugh, but I didn't. The male ego is too fragile.

I turned off the freeway at the next exit and stopped to get gas. As I was pumping the combustible liquid that would fill our depleted tank, I saw through the vehicle window that Matthew was intensely studying both the printed Google map and a city road atlas that we store in our vehicle for emergencies.

At that moment I couldn't help but think about the Bible and how God's Word is our road map. We can never say God's map is wrong. It will always keep us on the right path, so it will do us well to study it thoroughly.

"And we have the word of the prophets made more certain,

and you will do well to pay attention to it,

as to a light shining in a dark place,

until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts."

1 Peter 1:19

Once I finished pumping the gas and climbed back into the vehicle, Matthew quickly put his maps down and said with confidence, "I am just going to follow my instincts now!"

So I did what every female should do: I fed the male ego, went along with him, and followed Matthew's "instincts". A half hour later we were at our destination...male instincts are amazing!

The best news is that we found five great costumes for us to wear, and each of them is unique. Matthew has a wealth of knowledge about historical clothing. He reads a lot of Christian historical fiction, and he never skims over the author's descriptions of characters' clothing and appearance. When I read a novel, I couldn't care less about the humdrum descriptions. I always skip those boring parts.

Once we got home, Tim and Matthew tried on all the costumes to see what each of them looked like. (Except, of course, for my costume, which is a purple medieval dress.) The costumes looked better than we expected! We are definitely looking forward to this special event!

Matthew has recently bought a GPS enabled tablet that he will use to help confirm his male instincts the next time we navigate through the city.