A few months ago, before the start of the new school, there was a great commercial for school supplies featuring happy, dancing parents and pitifully sad children. That familiar Christmas song “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” played in the background. I couldn’t help but laugh when this commercial came on at the sheer joy of the parents and deep sadness for the children that it was back to school time.

This commercial prompts some very important questions… 

What makes you happy? What brings you such joy that it makes your heart sing? What causes you to kick up your heels and dance as though no one is watching? It is my prayer that you have that kind of joy and happiness in your life.

We must also ask, what makes you sad? What knocks the wind out of your sails? What erases the smile from your face and steals the song from your heart? What brings and end to your dancing?
I know each of our answers might differ as we share our responses. One of the things that steals my joy is when I get lost when I am driving. And I get lost a lot!

I have had to make more U-turns then I care to think about. You may be thinking, “How can anyone get lost in this day and age with GPS and other advanced technological devices?” Well, we won’t go there! The bottom line is, I easily get lost and I do not like it when I do not know where I am or where I am going.

This afternoon I was on the Ohio River Boulevard driving to Sewickley, a straight shot on an easy route.

I have driven it countless times. But I and several other drivers were detoured off of the Boulevard due to an accident. How difficult can this be, right? I know the general direction I need to go. And as luck would have it, or maybe I should say, as God would have it, the guy in front of me seemed to know where he wasgoing. I chose to follow him to get me where I needed to be. After a few twists and turns I saw the sign for Route 65. I was right. He did know where he was going. I chose wisely. But somehow… someway… my following him led me to a place that was not Route 65. I guess I didn’t choose wisely. I made yet another U-turn and found my way.

Life is like driving. We often know where we want to go, but do not always know the best way there. And sometimes, life throws us some road blocks and detours and so we feel our safest option is to be a follower. We trust by following others we will get to where we want to be. Sometimes we choose wisely but sometimes we choose poorly and end up going in the wrong direction.

What should make each of us happy is that we have a road map for life, it is called the Bible. How often do we open God’s word for guidance and direction?

Ever wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone?

What if we carried it around in our pockets or in our purses?
What if we flipped through it several times a day?
What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?
What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
What if we treated it like we couldn’t live without it?
What if we gave it to kids as gifts?
What if we used it when we traveled?

Oh, and one more thing; what if we spent as much time in it as we do Facebook?

Unlike our cell phone, we don’t have to worry about our Bible being disconnected, because Jesus already paid the bill.

Being lost steals my joy. I am so happy and grateful for the one who says: “I AM THE WAY AND THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE!” It is right there in God’s road map called the Bible.

As long as we follow Jesus (the way of love) we will never get lost no matter how many road blocks or detours we encounter, even if we have to make a few U-turns! Thanks be To God.

Blessings,
Pastor Russel