Tracie Mark
“A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.” Proverbs 16:9
Do you know what this is? I didn’t. I saw it on my friend’s desk at the trauma center where I work and picked it up out of curiosity. Upon closer inspection, I could tell it was a maze of sorts and wondered what in the world it was for. When the owner of the piece came in, I asked her what in the world it was? It’s a labyrinth, she replied.
A labyrinth. I’ve heard that term before and I thought it was some kind of medieval prison or a torturing device. Turns out it is a “complicated irregular network of passages or paths in which it is difficult to find one’s way; a maze; a confusing set of connecting passages or paths in which it is easy to get lost.” Hmmm. It sounds a lot like my life these days. Well, all my life to be completely honest with you.
How many times have I set out down the road and found myself missing my turn or going too far and having to turn around or not seeing a blind corner or a dead-end coming? A lot. Most of those times though, I’ve realized that I was either going too fast, not paying attention or failed to use my GPS because I thought I knew the way. Yep, thinking that I knew the way or better yet, just thinking my way was better.
“A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.”
Therein lies the problem…I planned my own way. Or, possibly the Lord purposely concealed part of the path so I would have to depend on Him to find my way? Either way, there always seems to be something in the journey that I didn’t see coming. As I stood there holding this strange circle that eerily modeled my life, my friend began to tell me about this piece and what it really represents.
“We are all on the path… exactly where we need to be. The labyrinth is a model of that path. A labyrinth is an ancient symbol that relates to wholeness. It combines the imagery of the circle and the spiral into a meandering but purposeful path. The Labyrinth represents a journey to our own center and back again out into the world. It is a metaphor for life’s journey. It is a symbol that creates a sacred space and place and takes us out of our ego to “that which is within” …our ego. A labyrinth has only one path. It is unicursal. The way in is the way out. There are no blind alleys. The path leads you on a circuitous path to the center and out again. With a labyrinth, there is only one choice to be made. The choice is to enter or not. The choice is whether or not to walk a spiritual path.
To enter or not? For those of us truly on the narrow road, I imagine there’s really no question as to whether to enter or not, but more like, will we trust or not. How many times will we devise our own plans, follow our own rules, or think we know the way before we completely throw our hands up in frustration and surrender and say, “Ok God, I have no idea where I am. I have no idea where I’m going. Will You please show me the way?” As I stood there circling the disc with the scepter, I realized this is exactly where I am right now. Having started off on a journey down a road that looked like the way, only to find myself at yet another turn that I didn’t see coming.
But God.
Praise God that I’ve finally learned that detours don’t mean dead ends. That wrong turns can sometimes lead to better ways. And that even circles have a way out. I know that even when I don’t understand or can’t see the way that He always does. So instead of trying to figure things out, or go around the block another time, I’m going to take some time off, sit down and let God plan my next steps.
Accordingly, keep the confusion down and the wrong turns out by always using your GPS ( Gods Positioning System) first. Trust me… His way is always the best.
God bless you, all.
Watchmen On The Pod 