Near the end of his life, my dad began to experience cognitive challenges. He was only 70 years young when he passed away, but a couple of years earlier, he began to struggle to find the words for ordinary objects and the names of people he knew well. It was a terrible frustration for him.

Conversations with Dad became more difficult for him as he fought to bring to mind commonplace words and familiar names. I was patient and reassuring, but in the end, Dad was flustered and embarrassed.

The most heartbreaking episode in Dad’s decline came on a cold West Texas morning. Dad was a regular at a local café. He was a part of a circle of retirees who met for coffee every few days to swap stories of their glory days and to share some laughs and wisdom. The sweet waitress knew this crew well, and she knew that Dad hated coffee. His glass of iced tea was always waiting for him at his spot at the table.

At the end of their gab session on this particular day, Dad pulled on his jacket, fished his keys out of his jeans pocket, crossed the parking lot, and got into his shiny Ford truck.

And then he realized that he had no idea how to get home.

He panicked and sat for a while, hoping that the route for a drive he’d made literally hundreds of times would come back to him. After several minutes, his mind was still blank, and he began to cry. Ashamed and humiliated, he finally called his wife and confessed his situation. She drove to the parking lot and brought him home.

From that point forward, he stopped driving to coffee with the fellas. Fortunately, the town was small, and his buddies would take turns picking him up for the drive to and from the café. He still got to be with his buddies, but he never drove again.

Dad never recovered from the fear and humiliation of the morning he forgot his way home. He was riddled by doubt in his navigation skills, and that doubt slowly crept into almost every other area of his life.

To know that you have a home but can’t for the life of you remember how to get there is a scary place to be. If you belong to Jesus, you have a forever home in heaven, and He – being the Way – promises that He’ll get you there safely. Maybe you’ve been walking with Him for a long time. You know that He’s gone ahead of you to prepare a place for you in God’s presence forever.

But in this broken and complicated world, the way can get foggy and you can get confused. Trauma may skew your sense of direction. A disappointment or heartbreak may distract you from God’s promises. You may be suffering the consequences of an unwise choice and doubting how God could ever love you.

Any and all of these circumstances may bring on a paralyzing self-doubt. The idea of moving forward or moving on isn’t an option because you can’t even trust your ability to navigate out of your current situation.

Good news. You don’t need to trust yourself. You need to trust Jesus. He promises to be your Guide and your Example.

God bless Dad. In his scariest moment, someone who loved him made sure he got home safely. God is tender toward you, friend, and He knows your distress. In all of your trials and challenges, remember that Someone Who loves you will make sure that you get home safely, too.

*****

Some Bible promises for when you need God’s guidance and a little hope…

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me. In My Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am.” – John 14:1-3

“Instead, they were longing for a better country – a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.” – Hebrews 11:16

“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’” – Isaiah 30-21

“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” – Micah 6:8

“The Lord will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame.” – Isaiah 58:11

“Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in My people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more.” – Isaiah 65:17-19