What a Friend We Have in Garmin

April 22, 2022 by  
Filed under Humor, Stories

By Kim Stokely –

I have a confession. I am directionally challenged. If there’s only one way to get to a location, I’ll still manage to take a wrong turn. I’ve accidently gone to another state. Even with that handicap, I’m one of the only people I know who doesn’t have a GPS device in the car. I don’t think I ever will either.

The one time I tried using one was in a friend’s car. We were on our way to a retreat and plugged in our destination. I’d been told it would take us an hour to get to the center. An hour later, my friend and I were lost in some rural town with no name out in the middle of nowhere. Her Garmin kept telling us to turn right which would have sent us into a cornfield. The disembodied voice seemed quite put out that we wouldn’t obey her command. Every time we tried to find our way back to the main road I could hear Garmin sigh as she told us she was, “recalculating.” If she’d been a real woman, I know she would have crossed her arms and tapped her foot with impatience. We finally turned off the GPS and called someone we knew was already at the retreat center to help us find our way. I have no idea where the GPS wanted to send us, but it certainly wasn’t the place we wanted to go.

Others have had similar trials. One friend told me their GPS led them to the edge of a lake before ordering, “Find a way to the other side.” Sounds pretty much like Garmin was telling her to go “jump in the lake” to me! Another friend was trying to find an ice skating rink and instead ended up in a cemetery. Fortunately, he’s not paranoid. Me? I would have been convinced Garmin was trying to tell me something.

Give me a plain old map. I love to unfold the colorful accordion of paper and locate my destination. My fingers enjoy tracing the route. My brain likes to read the different towns along the way. And, I admit with a small amount of pride, I can usually re-fold the map into its original slim rectangle without a problem.

I feel the same way about my Bible. It is God’s map for us. It’s the same today as it was thousands of years ago. Although it never changes, it is new every time we read it. I know there are fancier ways to read scripture (apps on Smart phones and I pads) but I like to crack open the pages of my leather bound Bible. My fingers like to follow along certain passages and I love to mark out new “routes” that I discover along the way. Whether you choose an old-fashioned Bible or an electronic app, make sure to be in God’s word daily. As Psalm 119:105 says, it truly is “a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path” (ESV) and will keep you from getting lost in the rural cornfields of life.

About Kim Stokely

Kim Stokely has toured throughout the country in a one-person musical about women in the Bible. She lives in Nebraska with her husband and a variety of creatures including: two teenagers, two dogs, a parakeet and a legless lizard. Her stories have been printed in Chicken Soup for the Soul, Vista, and Writers’ Journal and she invites you to visit her website @ www.kimstokely.com to read her award winning short story, Bingo.
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Comments

7 Responses to “What a Friend We Have in Garmin”
  1. Jeff Stokely says:

    Thank-you for this nice reminder about how important God’s Word is in our lives!

  2. Julie S says:

    I especially liked this one, Kim. Great read and beautifully written.

    You’re an inspiration to many and it’s easy to see where you are rooted :).

  3. Kim says:

    Thanks Julie and Jeff!

  4. Judith Robl says:

    GPS – ugh! I have friends who’s GPS will get them from their house to any destination, but will not return them within two blocks of there original point of departure. With you, I’m a map person, too.

  5. Penny Roberts says:

    I too am directionally challenged! I rely on my Garmin and go around in circles sometimes just to get where I’m going–I appreciate having my husband navigate for me. I too prefer having the hard back Bible in my hand when I read–it’s so familiar and I love flipping through the pages knowing that each word was written to me! I was thinking having John navigate is like having the Holy Spirit speaking to me through reading God’s word. What an amazing God we have, he never leaves us or forsakes us–no matter where he leads! Love you girl! hugs, Penny

  6. Kim says:

    I love the idea of the Holy Spirit being our navigator! Too true!

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