Seasons

FINDING TRUE NORTH

People come to my office for a variety of reasons.  Some come to solve a problem; some come to fix something that is broken.  Those are excellent reasons to see a psychologist.  But some of my favorite clients are those who come to sit at the feet of their own lives and learn.  If we take the time, if we stop and pay attention, we might find that life has been trying to teach us.  Some of our biggest disasters might actually be roadblocks set by God to point us in the right direction.  

We were created with innate righting reflexes that correct the orientation of the body.  When the body goes off balance and falls down, the righting reflexes help the body to return to the upright position and regain equilibrium.  When we ingest something that is toxic, our stomachs have a mechanism to expel the harmful substance and return us to health.  Airplanes and sailing vessels have what is known as a righting moment to help restore them to the correct attitude when they have listed or rotated off center.  A righting moment keeps a boat upright and prevents capsizing.  

I wonder how many of those righting moments in life have gone unheeded.  Those times where we have listed in the wrong direction and have not paid attention to our own righting instincts.  We have gotten off course and can’t seem to find our direction.  We have missed our true north.

By looking back at your own unique life story and examining the critical events, you discover how the pieces fit together to define who you are and explain how you got to this point.  Often we see that some of our worst mistakes, our biggest regrets were actually righting reflexes to point us to our true north.  No one likes pain, but if we listen, pain is trying to tell us something.  If you put your hand on a hot stove, pain sensors send a message to your brain that causes you move your hand so you won’t burn your skin.  Similarly, painful life events are sending us a message that we need to move, to change course, to do something different.  Some of us learn quickly and can right ourselves with only a little discomfort.  Others of us need a great deal of pain before we finally wake up and decide to take action.  Sadly, some of us stay stuck in pain because we don’t know what to do or don’t think we have any power to change the situation.    

I believe our broken roads get us to the place we were destined to be, if we pay attention to the road signs along the way.  God hears and answers every prayer, even though we may not get the answer we want at the time.  Looking back at my life I can now see that those “unanswered” prayers were God’s way of showing me just how much He loves and cares for me.  He loves me too much to give me everything I want.  Instead, He gives me what I need to get me to the place I am supposed to be. 

 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  Jeremiah 29: 11-13  (NIV).