M is for MAP

We had two maps, both slightly different in scale but we were expert map readers and had no cause to be alarmed. What's more, our driver was totally dependent on our directions and he seemed to be happy enough at the time. The four of us had set off from Nelspruit airport, deep in the heart of northern South Africa with every intention of reaching our safari game lodge in Kruger Park by early afternoon and setting out on an organised game drive long before dark. The closer we got to our destination, the less obvious became the signs that we were travelling in the right direction. For a start, the tarmac roads had long since disappeared, stopping ever so suddenly in the middle of a long stretch and replaced with dusty, sandy dirt track roads. Then there were the road signs, or lack of them, that didn't build up one's confidence. Thirdly was the realisation that for every road and turning featured on the map, there were several hundred that hadn't been included and these were going off in all sorts of directions. We chose what looked vaguely on the maps to be correct and headed off. Some two hours later, arriving back at our original starting point, having passed through numerous villages not marked on our map and with the sun beginning to fade behind the bush, we decided to ask one of the locals, who obligingly pointed us in the right direction. Two hundred yards up the road was the entry to Kruger Park. We had missed it by that amount from where we had turned off and already we knew we had also missed our afternoon game drive. So much for maps or maybe it was our interpretation.

I love Dublin as a city but no matter how often I travel there, almost always I find some difficulty getting to where I want to go and to be honest, maps aren't a great help. Not many years ago I was using an older map to circumnavigate the city but it didn't have any of the new ring roads or motorways nor indeed did it mention the one way system in operation. It took so long to get through when, with the correct map, I could have done it in half an hour. And because I'm not a seasoned traveller through that city, by the time I'm next going through it, I have forgotten all the landmarks that I promised myself I would use to find my way in the future.

I have always been fascinated by maps and there is something greatly satisfying about being able to reach a destination by successfully using a map. We have used them in many countries and cities to find our way about but in truth, maps of the same area can differ greatly in their accuracy and also in the amount of detail they provide. But I still just love to study them for ages, finding out where places are in the world and discovering routes and landmarks in cities and towns. And sometimes I get a great pride in seeing our own little road featured on a map like 'Google Earth' for the whole world to see.

We were looking at a map of Israel in the time of Jesus the other day, in class and it suddenly began to strike home to us all how far Mary and Joseph had to travel for the census, just before Jesus was born. What a journey it was from Nazareth to Bethlehem. The scale on the map suggests somewhere in the region of 120km or about 75 miles. There were no planes, trains or automobiles and though the Bible doesn't mention how they travelled, it was most likely on foot for much of the way or on the back of a camel or donkey. Not exactly the best preparation for an expectant mother! the map also shows that they probably had to pass through several towns on the way, including Jerusalem and even the most optimistic and able traveller would have had great difficulty in completing the journey in less than a week. Nowadays, with air travel you could probably fly around the world several times in that duration. Sometimes because we live in a small country, we tend to compare distances here with travel abroad but it's only when we look at the scale and then actually begin the journey that we realise how long the route can be.

God has guided me all of my life and His map for the direction I should take is the Bible. It's only when you begin the journey that you find out He has advice for every wrong turning you might take. I take great encouragement from the Psalmist's words when he writes 'For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end.' It's then that I know if I lose my way, it's my fault for not reading the map properly. And the great thing about the map He has given is that it's never out of date.