This past week was absolutely gorgeous here at Higgins Lake. The colors here in the north are still brilliant. We had a wonderful week of pleasantly warm weather though this week is supposed to be a bit cooler. I don’t remember ever seeing a better display of color than I have in the last few days.
On Saturday our family got together with the Schicks from Prudenville. Ed is the Pastor at First Baptist Church. He and his wife Leslie have five children very close in age to our own. They arrived at Prudenville just a month before we came to Higgins Lake. We had decided to visit an orchard in the area, enjoy some fellowship, fall color, apple picking, and apple cider. Things didn’t go quite as we had planned.
I brought directions from the Internet to an orchard near Gladwin. I have learned the hard way in the past that you can’t always trust directions from the Internet. I have found sometimes they are very accurate but not always. This was one of those times when they were way off. I should have known better.
Ed had also been given directions to an orchard in the same area. He was a good sport about it. Ed took my directions and led the way since I had not been to that area before and we were off to find the orchard. After a couple of wrong turns and miscues we finally arrived at our destination. But there was no apple orchard. So we abandoned my directions and went off in search of the orchard Ed had been told about. After a bit more driving we stopped at a gas station in the area to clarify our directions.
When we got back on the road we thought we were finally going to find the orchard. But it was not to be. In the process we did find a petting zoo that Ed had been told was also in the area and we settled on going there to let the children spend some time enjoying the animals.
Ed did later find the orchard and brought back some delicious apple cider. We agreed the petting zoo turned out to be a better choice. The children had a very nice time feeding the animals. We all went on a hayride and then the children enjoyed painting pumpkins and playing in a haymow with a rope swing. Things turned out quite well.
Living life like that isn’t what’s best though. Things don’t always turn out the way you hope. It would be tempting to mosey through life with bad directions hoping to arrive at your intended destination sooner or later. But like our trip on Saturday you tend to waste a lot of time. You could also suffer unintended consequences while wondering through life without good directions. There are those who go through life without any direction at all and that is tragic.
We all need direction in life. We all have times when we’re not sure what to do. Much better than to wander aimlessly hoping to find your way would be to go to the One who always gives good directions. Do you need direction in your life? Ask God. James 1:5 says “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” (NIV)
We humans tend to give faulty directions. Be careful that you aren’t relying on the wisdom of man.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5, 6 NIV)
Have a wonderful week,
Kevin