Where Are You Going?

It's been over three years since I've moved to the state of Washington.

Even though I haven't lived in the Dallas area for four years, every once in a while I still get a call from my dad who asks, "James, how do I get to _______?"

It's interesting he doesn't call my sister who still lives in Dallas. He calls me. Maybe that's because my sister never answers her phone. She thinks her phone is just a toy to play games on. Anyways, she never answers her phone. I know. Very annoying, but I digress.

So when my dad gets lost, he still calls me.

The conversation usually goes like this.

Me: "Dad, where are you trying to get to?"
Dad: "I'm trying to get to H-Mart" (H-Mart is a huge asian grocery store).
Me: "That's great. Now can you tell me where you are?"
Dad: "I don't know."
Me: "You don't know? Then I can't tell you how to get to H-Mart because I don't know where you're lost."
Dad: "If I knew where I was lost then I wouldn't have called you!"

After a few minutes of trying to figure out where my dad's lost, I usually ask him to ask someone near by tell him where he is.

You see, that's the thing. In order to get anywhere in life, you need to know at least two things: Where you are and where you are headed.

Those two things make all the difference in the world. Should you know one without the other, you are still hopelessly lost.

What's true about directions is also true about lives.

Unless you know where you are currently, and unless you know what your destination is, you're lost. It doesn't matter what road you take. You'll end up running around aimlessly.

And that's how most people live: paycheck to paycheck, job to job, relationship to relationship, etc.

Lost.

Then one day, they realize they haven't gone anywhere. They haven't made anything of their lives.

And for some, it's too late. They've messed up too many lives. There are too many hurt people strewn about along the way.

But, if you're fortunate enough to have discovered you are lost, count yourself blessed.

If you are smart, before you make any more decisions about your future, the first thing you will do is to figure out where you are. Then ask yourself where you are headed. What is your destination? What do you want your life to be all about?

And if you are wise, you will let God who created you tell you who you are and what you were created for. And you will do everything in your power to become who God created you to be. And you will be called wise.

And, you wise ones - you who know where they are headed - you will be called "happy and blessed."