They are our constant companions. They are our lifeline to the world. They are smartphones. Without them, we would be, well… LOST.

There was a time when I would search a map for the best route to get to my destination.and carefully write down the directions, turn by turn. Then I would notate the reverse, so that I could drive home without driving in endless circles. Now, I don’t have to prepare a thing. I just type in an address and the map in my phone will take me there. Don’t like the way it’s taking me? I can turn down a different road and it will re-route me. As long as I have my phone charged up, I can go anywhere.

We put faith in an electronic gadget that it will get us where we want to go. We might get frustrated with our phone for dropping a call or sounding a notification without cause, but we trust that whatever map app we have, we can make our journey. We may make fun of the way it takes us, sometimes the long way around, but never do we really question if we will make it.

How do we make the journey to heaven? Do we trust God enough to lead us there? Or would we rather put the address into our smartphone and drive there? I don’t think of myself as a person who has to be in control all the time. However, since I drive on a daily basis, I think some of that need for control creeps into other areas of my life, like my faith journey. Can I let God take the wheel and lead me to heaven? Do I think I’ll get lost on the way? Well, if I insist on driving, I very well may get lost! But if I let God drive me, how can I ever think I won’t make it? It sounds so easy, but it does require trust on my part.

I have to trust in God’s Word. I may not be able to enter an address for heaven, but I know the way because it has been mapped out by Jesus.  “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6). I need to be open to way that Jesus is directing me. I open up myself to a relationship with God through Jesus in the Mass, in prayer and in trying to follow Jesus’ life example.

It’s not about what I want, it’s about what He wants for me. I need to stop being a backseat driver, telling God where I want to go and how I want to get there. I need to trust that He will take me where He wants me to go. Sometimes it may be a direct route and sometimes it may be the scenic way. What I need to remember, is to just sit back, relax and enjoy the view and the journey.