Roadmaps

For several summers before I learned to drive, dad and I would take father-son trips together. At the beginning of our family vacation, we’d deposit my mother and sisters at my grandmother’s just east of Houston and, for one whole week, dad and I would hit the road.

Over time, we toured historic early Texas and Civil War sites. We spent time in the French Quarter eating beignets at Café DuMonde just across from Jackson Square. I can still taste the powdered sugar and smell the warm open streets of the Quarter that never slept. We toured an Army Corps of Engineers scale model of the Mississippi River. Once, we drove all the way to Florida where I saw Cape Canaveral for the one and only time in my life. Dad would interpret what we saw as we went along. I was learning about history, French cuisine, art, science and engineering and didn’t even know it.

The best part was the adventure of going places with dad without knowing for sure where we were headed. We picked up gas station roadmaps as went along. We slept in cheap motels and ate in roadside greasy spoons. Most of all, as we went along, we were forging a relationship that lasted until his death and, I’m certain, we’ll pick up where we left it off after the Resurrection.

Especially when they want clear direction for the future, someone occasionally asks, “What is the will of God?” “It’s not a roadmap,” I’ll offer. “It’s a relationship, an adventurous discovery with Jesus one day at a time.” Jesus didn’t always tell the disciples where they were headed or how they’d get there. He issued a simple invitation, “Follow me,” and, remarkably, they did. He interpreted what they saw as they went along and they never missed a meal. The world is being reshaped by those who are willing to go on an adventure with Jesus, even with no roadmaps, and who are willing to trust him for what they need as they go along.