Why Marriage is Like a GPS

Last summer my family and I took a road trip across the country to Banff, Alberta. Thankfully before leaving home my husband picked up a GPS for the van. After using it to navigate through the city of Calgary, I couldn't imagine travelling without it. It was able to direct us right from our driveway at home to the front door of our hotel without barely a hitch.

We did however have one evening that proved to be interesting. We were out searching for a Mexican restaurant, and I don't know if Michael was tired or Calgary was that confusing, but it seemed that he missed every turn we were supposed to take. The minute we missed a turn the voice on the GPS systems said, "recalculating." And recalculate it did, about a dozen times before we finally arrived at the restaurant where we discovered a "Closed" sign. It was time to get back in the van and recalculate things yet again.

This morning at church someone pointed out how marriage is like a GPS system. Most people go into marriage with their idea of what things should look like, and how life will pan out. In fact one of the most exciting things that you can do with your partner is discuss your hopes and dreams for the future. 

How many kids do you want to have? Where do you want to live? At what age do you want to retire?

These are some the of things that you program into your GPS system as you save and plan for the future. The problem--if you can even call it a problem--is that your life is constantly recalculating the paths that you take. Things rarely to never turn out exactly the way that we planned because it's impossible to see past today. All we are given is this moment, tomorrow belongs to the Lord.  Are you flexible enough to let Him lead the way?

To me being flexible is synonymous with being content. A content woman brings glory to her husband, while trusting God for their future. While a discontent woman is the equivalent of a nagging GPS. Imagine for a moment if instead of happily recalculating the journey for you, a voice came over the system complaining, nagging, and reminding you of the fact that you missed every turn. How long do you think you'd listen to it before turning the volume off or tossing it out of the window?

Recalculating only becomes a problem when we stop trusting God with our future. We have a choice--we can either enjoy the twists and the turns in the road, or we can complain that life isn't all that we hoped for.

Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” ~ James 4:13-15, NIV

You are loved by an almighty God,

Darlene

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I'm over at Roo Mag today sharing a post called, "Living a Sacrificial Life:"

In Reshaping it All, there is a chapter called, "Meekness isn't a Weakness," and in that chapter Candace and I talk about the character of Jesus Christ and His outstanding ability to bridle his anger. From this we can take an example from Jesus who went to the cross like a sheep to the slaughter.

We aren’t called to defend ourselves--we are called to defend our God and His Word. Read more...

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