July 25, 2025

“Trust”

Last Friday, about this time, I was finishing up a walk on the beach on our last day of vacation. Eight days before that, I was packing to go to the beach. It was a great time away. But there was one thing that was a bit different than normal. We have been going to the same place for over twenty years. Most years, there are multiple trips, so I know my way. In the beginning, I would have written directions next to me, to remember specific route numbers, just in case. But I haven’t needed that for quite some time. This time, I found myself at a loss. I was heading down, listening to a podcast, getting in beach mode, and then a little past halfway, suddenly a detour. From what I could see, there was an accident just up ahead. It was a small road, and all traffic was being detoured around. There was no time, or place to stop and figure it out; cars were lined up in front and behind me, and did I mention that it was raining pretty good? So, I did what the cars in front of me did, I turned at this unfamiliar intersection. Now, some cars turned left, and some turned right. I chose right. I had no idea where that road went, but my final destination was further East and South, so right felt like the correct direction. But what did I know about how these side roads ran? I turned right and then as soon as possible, pulled over, pulled out my phone, pulled up Google maps, and said, “Avalon” into the search bar. Sure enough, there was a way plotted for me. Off I went.

From that point on, I didn’t look at the phone. It was raining pretty heavily, so I was concentrating on the road, just listening for the voice of Siri to tell me when to turn. I went down roads I had never been on before. I passed through towns, the names of which I did not know. I passed schools, and a prison, and a small military facility. Cars, and trucks traveled with me, turned off here and there, joined in, went the other way; in other words, went their own way, oblivious to me. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, going where I was told to go, turning when I was told to turn, I came out to a road that I knew, surprisingly close to my destination, totally bypassing a large section of roads that I normally used. In the end, it turned out, my “detour” took about as long as my normal route would have. If I had driven blind, God only knows how or when I would have made it to the beach. I guess I could have waited at the initial detour, till the accident cleared up, but that could have been many hours. Ultimately, what got me to my destination was trust. I trusted the resource that I had, and it proved true.

There is a lesson there. Week in, week out, day in, day out, we go about our business, whether it is the usual routine, or whether it is something special and we may have great familiarity. We may be able to navigate our way without thinking, under normal circumstances. But every now and then, something happens, and we are pushed or pulled out of our normal routine. We may be forced to take paths to which we are unaccustomed. When that happens, what do you do?

Many will just start "driving around."  In other words, they will try to keep going, but they are essentially directionless; they don’t know what they are doing, or where they are going. Some will sit; stuck where things went off the rails; waiting for it somehow to correct itself so that they can do what they normally do. The smart thing, the faithful response, is to make our way forward by faith. We need to trust the one that we say is Lord and take our direction from Him. Sometimes that will mean that we travel through places that are completely unfamiliar. We may not know the way at all. But we trust our guide, to get us to our destination. Really, what we should be doing at all times, is trust our guide to get us to where He Knows, we need to go. That is really trusting; letting God lead us. If you are wondering how one does that, there are apps for that: prayer, scripture, Christian counsel, the Holy Spirit. It can be a little unsettling at times, to not know the way, the way we would like. Or, to feel out of control. But really, there is no truer, safer way to go through life, than with God directing. Trust.

Grace, Mercy, and Peace,
Pastor Blaine.

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.

• Proverbs 3:5-6