Did you know that AAA still gives out free road maps to its members? No
charge, other than membership, and you can get all you want. For those of us
who tour, it is like a riding junkie’s candy store, and my collection has grown
over the years, for free. Can’t beat a deal like that. Yes, my friends, road
maps, those wonderful things you can unfold and cover your kitchen table with,
and dream of your next trip. Like reading a book, a big book, one big page at a
time, then moving on to the next page when you leave the area. A friend, that
unlike a GPS, which looks nerdly on your cool motorcycle, that fits right in
your back pocket of your Wranglers, can be carried with you, and even can be
refolded to size to fit in the appropriately named map pocket in your tank bag.
A friend that shows you tiny little lines that turn into wonderful curvy roads,
the kind God intended when He created motorcycles. A great overview of an area,
showing alternative routes, allowing you to wander down a road, rather than
wonder where it goes. A friend you can build a relationship with, rather than a
woman’s voice, not your wife’s or mother’s, telling you turn right in 750 feet,
but forgot to tell you to get out of the commuter lane to do it, but will
kindly, if not annoyingly reroute you back, or to the next exit, it is up to you
to be ready, all this while riding, using the same care and consideration as the
teenage girl texting her mother she is late for dinner. Which also can alert
you to the nearest hospital as your next destination. Giving a whole new
meaning to it’s the ride, not just the destination.
For years maps have been my winter source of entertainment, planning the
next trip for next summer. Reviewing old maps, covered with highlighted roads
that we had traveled in the past, and transferring our future to new ones, and
repeating the procedure again. With some maps just containing our past routes,
overlaid in a different color each year, much more fun when sharing a ride than
holding a 2x2 screen and squinting at where you have been. A map gives scale to
your story, and while it may only look like a few inches on a map, it can really
be hundreds, or thousands of miles in real life. Where you can see Texas from
Virginia, or Maine from Michigan, and see how you will get there. And how you
can decide which roads to take, not be locked into a freeway tour of America,
loaded with apps so you don’t miss every Cracker Barrel, but do miss Lambert’s,
Home of the throwed rolls in Sissiton. Where you can take old 66, and eat at
the Rock Inn, of CARS fame. No freeway exits here. Just real adventure. And
the best part is even though you know your destinations, you get to choose how
you get there. Some days are 500+ miles, while others take the same amount of
time to cover 200, all on roads you found on your map.
Now it has been said a worn Bible is the sign of a life that isn’t, and the
same can be said of maps. If you are the type who highlights everything, you
are probably a map reader. You want more than a synopsis of the truth, you want
to live it and breath it all in. You wish to go all the places God shows you,
and wish to make it a personal journey, not one of apps, but one of adventures.
But for some, they are just content with knowing they are going to heaven, and
could care less about the trip there. They have given their lives to Jesus, now
leave me alone, I have things to do, and you really don’t need to be that
personal. Yet as all Christians call heaven our home, and our final
destination, it is up to us to choose how we get there, including God along on
the ride. He already has a map set out for us, it is up to us to follow the
lines, to get off the freeways and into the real adventures He has planned for
us. It is eating at Rudy’s, a custard at Ted Drewes, choosing which milkshake
at Steak and Shake, and eating a local sausage for breakfast, at the counter in
a small café. It is getting the most from any ride, and exploring places only
found on maps, not on ads or apps. It is staying at the Hopson Plantation, in a
converted cotton gin, rather than at the local motel chain, and paying less and
getting more. It is taking twice as long to get there, and feeling twice as
refreshed when you do, free from the stress of possibly missing your next turn.
It is getting the most from life, that only God can provide. It is seeing
America, meeting its people, and making new friends. It is called living, and
God promises it abundantly...but only if you let Him. The choice is yours,
will you let Him? Do you let Him?
Not every road you will travel is smooth and straight. But He is there,
just like a good suspension, to help you soak up the bumps. To help you along,
and see the scenery. Studying the Bible is like spending time with a map, only
more beneficial. For a good map not only shows you the way, but takes you
places new, just like God does with His word. He is someone to bench race with,
to ask about roads to come, and who is willing to take you into the future,
kicking and screaming sometimes just for your benefit. Reading the Bible gives
us insight to Jesus, and all about Him. A look back to the beginning, and a
look ahead to the future...where the maps come into play. I know I am going to
spend eternity in Jesus, which leaves a short time left here. We know the
future, but don’t know the roads or route to take to get there. Which is why my
favorite view of the future is laying a map out on the kitchen table. Laying
out next summer’s ride, or even short one’s in between. An anticipation of
where I am going, and the excitement of figuring out how I will get there. All
in a conveniently folded map, which fits into my back pocket. Which leaves me
more time to see where I am going, and spend with God. For thousands of years
we got lost without GPS, or its help. Pick up a map today and spend some time
looking where you want to go. Ask God to guide you, and hang on for the ride of
your life. Jesus spent His entire life on the road, without a GPS. Maybe
enough said, let Him be your road map today, and remember those curvy roads He
created...like them I once was lost, but now I’m found. Let Him take you places
no GPS or app will or can. The future awaits all of us, the road you choose is
up to you. And just like AAA maps, Jesus does it all for free...become a member
today! And like the shirt says, I didn’t quit riding because I got old, I got
old because I quit riding.
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com