Acknowledge. Repent. Return.

7 Aug

We have sinned, we and our fathers;
we have committed crimes; we have done wrong.  (Ps 106:6)

I remember extended drives when my family would go on vacation.  With four boys, we drove wherever we went.  Flying would have been cost-prohibitive.

Days before our vacation would begin, my dad would go to the local gas station and pick up maps so that he could highlight the route that we would take to get wherever it was we were going that year.  Even if it was to a place that we had been before, the maps would come out and the highlights would take place.

You know something?

Highlighting a map does not necessarily mean that you will not get lost!

There were some times that we got lost.  Hopelessly so.

Sometimes it was as simple as the fact that dad missed the exit he was supposed to take.

Sometimes it was because he turned one way when he was supposed to turn the other way.

Whatever the case may be, when we got lost, we would pull to the side of the road and he would examine the maps to try to chart a way to get back on our route.

This was never a peaceful process.  Mom would get yelled at for not warning dad soon enough that the exit was approaching.  We kids would get yelled at for creating too much of a distraction with our tomfoolery.  Dad would be so upset that he would make the wrong decisions in trying to find his way and end up even more lost.

You think he would ever stop somewhere and ask for directions?

NO!

That was what made the trip miserable.  He could not admit that he was lost.

Our journey in life is fraught with peril, with distractions, and with wrong turns.  When we try to make it on our own, we get lost.

We need to have the grace to admit that we are lost.

Acknowledging that very basic fact will give us what we need to do next: to repent and ask God for help so that we could return to Him.

FAITH ACTION:  Mentally review the past week.  Have you strayed from God?  Make a firm purpose to amend your ways and return to the Lord.  Plan on going to confession soon if needed.