I learned a lesson the other day. I had spent the night in a town in Nebraska, and started out the next morning to continue my trek east. After about 30 miles I noticed a sign that was eerily similar to one I had seen before--and I was surprised to see it. The sign anounced that I was about to enter the Mountain Time Zone. I was a bit perplexed, as the sign I had seen the evening before had said I was entering the Central Time Zone. My first thought was that there was a small jog in the line between the zones, but then I quickly realized there was another very logical explanation, namely that I was actually going west instead of east. A rapid closer glance at an interstate marking sign confirmed my suspicion. I had entered the freeway going the wrong way, and was heading back to Seattle instead of forwards towards my destination, Greensboro, NC. Feeling more than a little foolish I took the first exit, retraced my route, and headed back in the right way....

As I thought about it, and tried to figure out what use I could make of my silly mistake, I realized that it will some day make a good sermon illustration. The point being that God has given us directions for our lives in his Word. They are pretty clear and pretty important. But if we do not pay attention to them, if we don't know them or if we head out without carefully looking at them, we could waste a lot of life and get in a lot of trouble....

Having left Calvin and not having a place to regularly preach any more, I am recognizing how much that activity means to me. A message I heard from Dr. Dale Brunner quoted another theolgian who said that we each have a place and a gift in God's kingdom and it can be found at the intersection between the needs of the world and our point of joy. Preaching and teaching God's Word give me joy, and as I continue to see how the experiences of life can be used to illustate that Word, I look forward to discovering the opportunities God will give me to share them with others.

A little over 2,500 miles done, just over 400 more to go before I get back to Nancy, Emily and Steve. Looks like I will make it before our first grandchild is born. The interstates work well for moving quickly, but they standardize an amazingly diverse country... Good and bad I think.