Lost in Brogan

I went to Brogan today.  Never been there?  I’ve now been there, and I’m not sure I’ve been there! It’s a quick little stop in the road, with a strong emphasis on ‘QUICK!’

I had an appointment with a friend in Brogan, and, basically, I couldn’t find her house.  Brogan is strategically located so that one’s cell phone and/or navigation systems aren’t useful.  So, I’m in Brogan, I’m late, and I can’t find where I am supposed to be!  I begin to frantically call my husband, who I’m not sure ever got my cries for help.  I’m not sure what he could have done.  He wasn’t in Brogan.  My logic was that he could “mapquest” for me, and help me figure out what I couldn’t.  Regardless, I had no help, I was left alone… in Brogan.

I began to visually search the extremely rural area for a glimpse of someone breathing.  A cow, nor a goat would do, I needed a real live person.  I saw none.  Then, my eye spied a car, a parked car, outside a place of what I guessed was a residence.  I got my gumption and knocked on the door, prepared to ask for directions to the home I couldn’t find.  The door was answered and a shirtless, tattooed, missing teeth man came out.  It occurred to me later that I probably wasn’t doing a very safe thing, but I hadn’t driven out to Brogan to turn around and just go home.  He couldn’t help me. He did give me directions to someone who possibly could help me.  I got back in my car, prepared to drive to my next learning opportunity, when I realized I had received a text with directions to my destination!

I arrived to my friend’s house in Brogan, enjoyed my visit, and headed back to civilization (though I’ve never thought of Ontario as “civilization” before!). On the way home, I processed my unexpected adventure.  I expect life to go as planned.  I had believed I would drive to Brogan, follow my phone’s navigation and find my final destination with very little stress or confusion. I realized I have come to rely too much on my own independence.  I evidently had begun to think I “was all that.”

Earlier this morning I had spent some time in God’s Word, specifically in 1 Corinthians chapter 3. The verses I read reminded me that God is the one who does things.  I may think I do things, but as The Message translation says it, God is at the center of the process.  When I was in Brogan, I wasn’t lost, God was with me.  I may not have been able to get a hold of my husband, God heard my cries.   I may have put myself in an unsafe situation, God’s protection was with me.  I didn’t know where I needed to go, God knew, and He is all that is truly important.

I’ve now been to Brogan.  Whether here, or there, my God is with me, and He is my center, my direction, my true north.