It was time to head home to Colorado and I turned on my GPS, hit the home button, and steered onto the highway. I love love love to drive. I can throw anything into my car (and I do pretty much empty out my closet, bathroom and kitchen when I drive anywhere), get up when I want to, stop when I want to, eat when I get hungry, not worry about lost luggage or cancelled flights, and I have tons of leg room.
After spending the night halfway home, I prepared to turn onto the last highway leading into Colorado, so I reached up and shut off my GPS. Not much chance I could lost when I only had one single highway to follow all the way home, right?
Have I met myself?
Around 6PM, I looked up to see a sign welcoming me to Nebraska.
Nebraska? What the??
I glanced at my gas gauge. Oops. Really, Meri, with all the driving you do, wouldn't you think you'd check the gas instead of waiting for the red light to come on? I had also just driven into a snow storm. Quickly I turned my GPS back on to get me to the nearest hotel, although once I saw it, I was pretty certain I'd be safer sleeping in a bear's den.
I didn't have a choice, though, so I let myself into the room, dumped my suitcases, and went to call Bob. No cell phone service. And the room didn't come with a landline. Bundling up, I stuck my head through the window where the hotel owner sat and asked if I could use his phone to call my husband. Bob answered after the first ring and said, "Nebraska? What the?"
A bath. That would help. I turned on the faucet. No hot water. Actually, no water at all.
Food. Traipsing back to the closet-like office, I asked the owner where I could get a bite to eat.
"If you don't want to drive far, there's a place to get a sandwich right next door," he said. "Otherwise, you'll have to drive aways."
The little grill looked like a place where I might be someone's next meal, so I checked my gas gauge. It registered 40 miles and I decided to take my chances. I hopped into the car to see if the other restaurant option was any better. Turns out it was a gas station on the other side of the hotel office (okay, technically that was farther) that sold packaged sandwiches.
I can't find my way out of a parking lot and I had turned off my GPS. What was I thinking?
I do that sometimes with my internal GPS. I start listening to everyone else's voices and lose touch with my own. I end up in some unsafe places, feeling dry and unrefreshed, and my emotional gas tank shows up near empty. Rather than a calm, relaxing drive, I've just headed straight into a blizzard. I'm blinded to my destination, and suddenly have no idea where I'm going.
Time to turn that GPS back on, because deep down, I know my own path better than anyone else knows it. There's that spark of the Divine within, and when I tune in, it's going to take me on an exciting journey. Just like my physical GPS, I may not know exactly where the next turn is, but I know it's taking me to right address.
Step by step.
Turn by turn.
I'm headed in the right direction.
Getting there,
Meri