"Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, This is the way; walk in it."
--Isaiah 30:21

This verse is on the travel mug that Pearl gave to me as a gift the night before I left Arandis in January.

When you stop and think about it, I think it's a perfect verse for a travel mug. I have it sitting here on my desk and I read it many times each day. I've decided it's a great GPS, but not like the newer - Global Positioning System - models that seem to be in vogue today. Rather, I think what Isaiah has going on here is one of the original more simple - God's Positioning System - models.

So which GPS is better? One requires you to tell it where you want to go. The other requires faith in where it is telling you to go. Both show you the way to your destinations. However, I think the newer models are only for short trips whereas the original model is designed for the long haul - your final destination. One needs batteries to operate, the other needs prayer.

Thinking back, I'm still amazed at how at home and comfortable Arandis seems. Being there, I never felt as though I was in a strange place. I didn't feel lost and I knew where I was. My GPS had successfully gotten me to this point. Still, as I would walk home at night, from Tresford's or from walking Chriszelda home, I would take the time to stop and look out over the black desert that encircles this tiny little village, turn and look towards the homes through the darkness, then look up at the Southern Cross and stars of the Southern Hemisphere and wonder, in what direction was I heading in my life? Yes, I am here, but now that I'm here, now that I've been down this road, where will it lead me? Where would my GPS take me next?

One night, I remember standing there on the edge of town, knowing that despite the peacefulness of my night, somewhere, someplace nearby, the night's stillness was being shattered by the silent cries of children. Cries no one would hear because no one was there, because no one cared. I wondered, “What hope can I bring to any one of these children who I will likely never meet?” And for those I have met, while I know that my presence here does have an impact, what happens after I leave? When will the next time be? What can possibly be done during such short periods of time that will have a lasting effect on the lives of these children, or anyone I interact with?

I miss seeing the children; the ones I would see almost every day while in Arandis. But then I wonder, “What about the ones I didn't see?” The ones that I know are out there, in and outside of Arandis, the ones I have never met and maybe never will. Does anyone miss them?

I understand that only once in history has any one person helped, saved and changed a world, its people and those who would follow, by His actions. I understand that helping everyone is not what is expected or intended of me. Maybe that is where prayer comes in; praying not only for the people I know, but also taking the time to pray for the people I don't know.

I think I've chosen for myself which GPS I want to use, but I struggle sometimes with not fully understanding what my GPS is telling me. It's frustrating not knowing what the next stop to my final destination will be, or where it is. I just know that it's ahead of me. Sometimes the voice behind me is deafening, other times it is all but muted by life, and I have to listen hard to hear it; I have to remind myself to listen for it.

All in all, though, I think it's the better GPS of the two to use - in the long run.

Which GPS do you use?