My eyes snapped open when I heard it. I had been starting to
doze off on a bus tour as part of a professional conference. My mind lazily
wandered from one foggy, disconnected thought to the next. Looking out the
window as the bus chugged down the highway, I caught a glimpse of a sign for an
approaching exit, and recognized the name of the town.
A girl I went to college with had grown up in that town. My
thoughts drifted back to years ago, and I remembered, recounted and reminisced as
my eyes drooped. Then my mind switched to questions: What’s she’s doing? Where is
she now? What if things had turned out different …?
Anything can trigger a memory. These reminders conjure up thoughts,
feelings and emotions that range from comforting to spine-tingling. A certain
song prompts you to remember a specific event. A smell reminds you of Grandma’s
kitchen. A unique sound transports you back to the place where you first heard
it.
In my case, it was a simple place name that caused my
thoughts to meander. But I was a different person back in college, with
different priorities, different thoughts, and different motivations.
Where does your mind go when it wanders? Ever catch yourself
wondering or dreaming or hoping things could’ve been different or better? There
is a danger in letting our thoughts repeatedly return to the past, especially
if that past did not include God. If we continually dwell on what was, then we
begin to lose focus on where we are right now, and lose sight of where we want
to go.
So before my thoughts drifted too far off the road with my
“What if …?” question, I heard “Then you wouldn’t know me.” Like sudden, strong
gust of wind, the Lord snapped me back to the present tense, and the fog blew
away with His answer. I was instantly awake, alert, and looking around to see
who on the bus was invading my thoughts.
Once we know the Lord, He will provide corrections to our
course as needed. Which is why Isaiah says, “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’” (30:21).
