So I'm in Arizona networking and promoting my new book. The toughest part of this whole process for me personally is getting places. You see, I'm directionally challenged. It takes me 3x as long to reach my destination because even with a GPS in my car, maps and printed Google Maps, AND my palm pilot - I still get lost.
Seems unreal, but I honestly cannot understand what I'm seeing in correlation with what I need to do. Funny, but that is also the biggest challenge right now in my personal life. I see the map (the Bible), I'm listening to the sermons, counseling with wise friends and leaders, and still I feel like I'm wandering around lost.
The first couple of days it made me frustrated. On the freeway cursing I had almost convinced myself to go back to Utah immediately. However, by yesterday I had become more familiar with the names of the routes, having criss-crossed them now in my wandering SO many times! And when I took a wrong turn I could almost feel it in my gut - ok, that doesn't feel right - and I laughed and turned around. (a few days ago I would have been a half hour away before recognizing the mistake)
This is what most of us avoid like the plague - getting "in there" - right into our weakness so completely that we're at the end of ourselves. I hate it honestly. But the last few days I've also come to appreciate my own tenacity. I don't want to give up. I want to work through it and learn this thing about directions, maps, and feeling confident in new places alone.
I'm going to encourage you to see your challenges today under a microscope - how are you keeping yourself from growth out of your own fears? And what could you learn on a deeper level if you just allowed yourself the room to fail? Take a new course today and recognize that even being lost is a good thing. It teaches us how to find that sense of direction and navigate anywhere.
