A-MAZE-D

"Show me the path where I should walk, O LORD; point out the right road for me to follow." -- Psalms 25:4

Earlier this week I took part in a team building exercise with my work colleagues. We visited the Butterfield corn maze just west of Oxford. We were told to expect about an hour to get through the maze. We paid our $5 and were handed maps. After counting off into two teams we started in. Our designated leader took us through the maze in record time and our team won the race. Twelve minutes! But what I felt when we exited was far from excitement. It was more like disappointment. Where was the fun in racing through a maze with map in hand, not making a single wrong turn? Getting lost down a dead end, celebrating teamwork through forced strategy, having an adventure complete with laughter, these things were missing.

I couldn't help but ponder how going through the maze parallels life. If God gave us a map we would probably finish in record time and miss out on all the adventure. If the maze represents our life, then God has already accounted for all the wrong turns and dead ends. There are often unexpected surprises awaiting us off the path. We were told that there were mailboxes hidden in the maze containing postcards, but we were quite certain they were hidden down the dead end paths. And, having a map in hand, we were only concerned with finishing the race in record time and not in savoring the "treasures." God knows our frame. I think He knows if we had a map we'd probably do the same thing. Today I praise God for drawing in the map only as our feet touch the next step in our journey. Let us run the race in good faith knowing that God does indeed have hidden treasures down some of the "dead end" roads we travel.