GPS (Great Personal Support)

To the Editor:

I believe it was about 10 years ago, that I got a gift from my son, Joe, at Christmas time that was one of those gifts that we have all received from time to time that has us mentally scratching our heads trying to figure out what it is and why do I need it. I tried to act grateful and I was very appreciative of his kindness but my inner question was: What is it?

Joe said that I would really use this a lot once I got “the hang of it” — it is a Tom-Tom GPS. I think I may have said audibly, “say what?” He said that once you plug it into your car and set your destination it will lead you there, right up to the front door. It is all satellite controlled. Wow, was my thought, this sounded all space age to me since the cellphone was the height of my technology at this time.

I have confessed this to Joe many times since I truly found out the value of this little gadget that it went in my drawer and that it stayed there for about three years until the time that my wife was to be in Boston for a thyroid operation. My son, Matthew, came home at the time just to help me with the driving and we would go to Methuen, Mass. where my oldest son and his wife live. We would stay with them and commute to Boston from there.

Just before we left Woodland, I got an insight to take along the Tom-Tom just for the fun of maybe playing with it some on the way down.

We got ourselves to Methuen with no problems and the GPS stayed in the dash with all our old road maps. Charlene’s appointment in Boston was two days away so Matt and I thought it would be wise to go to our destination in Boston before we tried to bring Charlene into the city and possibly traumatize her if we were to get lost.

So the GPS was plugged in and set for the street address of the hospital. It led us comfortably to the outskirts of the city but once we got to the inner city then the turn-offs and turn decisions came too fast for us. We made wrong turns, the GPS with the kind woman’s voice was so patient with us, we really thought she would sass us if we made another wrong turn. The GPS just re-routed us and we started over.

The scouting trip to Boston provided us with a learning curve the city but also in trusting in the GPS. It would pay off nicely when it was time to take Charlene in.

Matthew said that the GPS works great if we learn to trust in it. I responded “It is very much how it is in life.” Matt said, I think just to lead me on, “Well, who is in control anyway?”

Let me answer that by having us look at our experience with the GPS. The GPS knows where we are and where we want to go and all we have to do to guide us there is to trust in it. Now, trust is the key word, without trust then nothing happens.

Now, let’s suppose for analogy sake that we could tie into a “system” that knows us personally better than we know ourselves and could guide us through all of life’s personal highways and tangled roads. It could help us with our choices, relationships and all of life’s problems.

Matt asked “What if we made a mistake and fell off course?” I said the system would re-route us just like the plug in, it would put us on a new road with healing and forgiveness and we would learn from it and gain more trust just like we have with the GPS.

Yes it would require a great deal of trust and we would have to get to know the system personally also, especially the Head of the system. If we did this then our trust would be strong and we would be ready to accept its guidance.

Matt said “Now, this isn’t something we plug into the dash to communicate, so how does that happen?” I replied “When the trust and faith are strong then the communication would be all Spiritual.” “Oh”, Matt responded, “I think I understand. So, just what would this system be called?”

I answered with a smile … “I think you knew all along … the same initials — GPS — that is God’s Prayer Support.”

Peter Pinette

Woodland