Good Evening, God!
This is is a photo our dear friend Martha-Lee took on her recent cruise around the islands. It is a lovely photo but I wanted it for the lighthouse. Not that long ago lighthouses were important navigational aids. They weren’t just to warn ships that they were close to land. Each lighthouse had a distinctive set of flashing lights that told the sailors just where the lighthouse was.
I thought about that has Martha-Lee and I had just used Google Maps as a navigational device on our way from Whole Foods (picking up sandwiches) back to an evening workshop at Koolau. Normally, I wouldn’t need navigational help. But, the backup on the Pali meant that we wanted to find a faster way back. Martha-Lee who had lived in Kailua suggested we take the Quarry Road. But, it had been many years since then and as she said . . . .it looked different. Well, different it was! And I was happy to depend on Google Maps as we turned on to the saddle road and then briefly onto the H3 highway.
Being on the H3 caused her a certain about of distress but as the driver I was confident that the lovely voice of “the Google Girl” would get us there. And, sure enough, we got off at exit 11 — just a few hundred feet from the left turn into Koolau.
Times have changed. And they have changed rapidly. Or rather, they ARE changing rapidly. This means that the old cultural “lighthouses” have seen a mushrooming of new navigational “helpers”. Some really are helpful. But, many others are not. It requires a spirit of discernment to decide which navigational devices we will depend on.
We have so many options . . . but that means making so many more choices. And that means much more personal responsibility is required as we design a good and meaningful life. I think about I Corinthians 13:13 “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” These still act as useful lighthouses as we navigate our lives.
Story teller,
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