Due North

I may have to close the curtains in my office and the front door because my mind is constantly being yanked out of concentration and out to the glorious day. From my desk I look south to see the backyard where my beloved veggie garden lives. There are birds everywhere! It looks like hundreds of little birds hopping all over the dewy grass, dancing on the fence around the back porch, zipping and chattering as they go. Nikos and Chelsie, two of our four-legged “kids” dash by romping with early morning energy. Out the front door my view is to the north; to the hills in the distance which seem alive and beckoning me to the deck. The low rumbling of a train draws near in the valley as it sounds its lonesome whistle. No roads and cross traffic out here in the country, must be animals on the tracks. Yes, indeed, it is hard to focus on writing this morning. But I write with a purpose!

I was asked recently if there was some sort of system I use in deciding what to write or if it was random. I’ve mentioned many times in the postings that I wait for God to give me what He wants me to share each morning. If I do not get that godly direction, I say at the beginning of the post that the message was just from me. Since my marching orders from God were to use the life lessons He shows me to share with others, I will always follow that direction. It may sound odd to some but God really does give me the subject He wants to share, that’s His part. My part is to be sensitive to receiving the direction and using the gift of writing with which He blessed me to reach other people that may need to hear it, too.

This is how today’s subject was delivered to me: I was still asleep, having a dream about being at a busy travel station, rather like Bucky’s. There were people and cars everywhere and many had their hoods open, some working on their engines; others pumping gas and many just waiting their turn. I was trying to find a parking place and finally pulled into a tiny space at the far side of the lot. I noticed a man walking from car to car talking to people. He approached me and the man in the truck beside me. He looked frustrated and desperate. With anxiety in his voice said he was lost and could not find anyone to tell him how to get to his destination. The man in the truck said he needed to go north and pointed in that general direction. The weary lost man turned with apprehension toward where the truck guy was pointing . I heard a voice say, “Tell him to go due north, the One True North, and follow the Compass. Write about this.”

The Bible tells us in Joel 2:28-29: It will come about after this that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. I believe that God can use dreams as one of the many ways to communicate with me, His servant.

Jesus is our One True North, our Compass to follow. In the dream the lost man wandered from person to person asking direction and did not find his way. Many lost people look to other people for guidance. Can the lost lead the lost? Only if they want to stay lost! Can the blind lead the blind? Without Jesus, our compass, we blindly go to and fro without purpose, without finding the way. I’ve never fancied myself to be one that interprets dreams but this one seemed fairly straight forward to me. People with their hoods up, some working on their engines could easily be seen as lives that are not working; troubles and problems keeping them in a stagnant place. Those pumping gas might be seen as people seeking power and energy to continue on in life. The power and fuel for a productive life comes from God alone. Out of all the people at the station only the one man was asking for direction, all others were busy going about their business, trying to resolve their own issues. That’s a fairly accurate description of people today, is it not? So many scurrying about like ants with their heads down, focused on their own problems and lives. Not many have the courage to admit they are perfectly lost and need help.

I was once one of those people. I know about peddling as fast as you can and getting nowhere fast. I know all about broken down engines of life that have neither power nor energy to continue on. I know what it is to wander from person to person hoping they will have the answer you are looking to find, show you the way to go. I also know all about finding my One True North, my Compass, and my Jesus. My path is clear, the road is straight, my energy renewed, my power His, and I walk with my head up sharing my Compass with any and everyone that will listen or asks. Due North, Folks, Due North!