Lost and Wandering in the Pursuit of Treasure!

     "Not all who wander are lost" reads a quote my daughter had framed for me a few years ago. It hangs over my desk as a gentle reminder - I've always wandered, many times been lost, but always told her and my son as they worried from the back seat of the car, that we were on an "adventure"! Last week end as I made my way from Manhattan Beach to Pasadena, by way of Los Angeles I was indeed lost...three times...and somehow managed to confuse even the GPS in my phone. All in the pursuit of treasure.

     The Pasadena Antique Center is a place worthy of a treasure hunter's attention. The vintage jewelry that's been absent in local estate sales recently was found in abundance there. The staff was helpful and courteous, all around a great experience...once I arrived...

      This Victorian rose gold plated bangle bracelet was patented July 21,1874 by H & B Jewelry Co. is a treasure found at the Center. The engraving is beautiful on both sides!

     The first time I realized I was lost that afternoon was after driving through three tunnels and finding my exit on the left rather than where I'd taken for granted it would be - on the right. The decision to pull off and figure out how to get back on track was a good one...if I'd exited into a different neighborhood...one without "prison bars" on everything... I found myself completely turned around driving in circles around the obstacles of road construction before a road sign welcomed me to the freeway I'd initially missed.

    The second time I was actually very close to my destination, but made a wrong turn and had to stop again to figure out where I was. This time my wandering had taken me to a beautiful neighborhood and as I pulled off on a side street to recalculate my GPS the house in front of me looked like a scaled down version of the White House. I sat there for a few minutes collecting my wits...this time it was actually quite pleasant to be lost!

     All of this reminded me of a day twenty-some years ago that I started a journey with Jesus Christ. A relationship with Him is a treasure worth pursuing, and Bible in hand as my guide, I've been headed in that direction ever since.

     But sometimes I've wandered...

     And sometimes I've found myself totally off the path...

     Some of those wanderings have led me to places of fear, panic, and the knowledge that I am in the wrong place, a bad place...that I need to pray and ask Him guide me back to the path He has for me. To confess that I've followed my own "right", when His path took a "left"!

     Sometimes the places I've wandered haven't looked so bad. They were pleasant and  comfortable, and I've wanted to stay there, even though I'm not where I should be, rather than press on to find what He has planned for me.

    "Lost" and I had one last experience that afternoon. This time,though, I wasn't actually lost. I was in the right place, wrong parking lot. And I think it was intentional - on God's part - not mine!

     Since I was a child I had watched the Rose Bowl parade, loving those bright, beautiful flower-filled floats! Every time I watched, there in the background was the stadium, it's iconic rose accented sign proclaiming it as the sunny West coast host. So imagine my surprise, and delight, when I looked up from the parking space I'd found to check my GPS one more time and there in front of me was the sign. Just like I'd seen it on television for years! The golf course, where I was supposed to pick up my husband was right behind, but if I'd managed to go straight there I would've missed something I'd always hoped to see. God had allowed my "wandering" so I could have the fun of finding this spot!

     God has a path for all of us. We will have to get off the path we are blazing to follow Him. But there, on His path, we will find a better life than anything we could ever imagine!

     "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh and strength to your bones."
Proverbs 3:5-8