Quote by Hailey Furlan
I set my eyes on a spot on the wall ahead of me as I stood posed for a spin on the high beam. I wound up, pushed off with my rear foot, and spun until my eyes returned to their marked location. My foot landed in the lead as I steadied my position. This is how I learned my spins as a young gymnast years ago. It all began by marking the spot.
Recently, my husband and I forgot about the “marking your spot” trick while traveling in a foreign country. As the tour bus pulled to a stop in the Plaka District in Greece, our guide gave us a map, repeated the bus’s hourly schedule, and pointed out the huge landmark nearby to help us find our way back. Tour guides are good at repeating things for people like us. We got it, took a mental picture of that giant arch, and went on our way. Unfortunately, we never saw it again.
We decided that rather than shopping, we wanted to see the Acropolis which was, “straight that way.” We walked through the huge maze of quaint shops and restaurants, through neighborhoods, up and around a hill, and reached the top where the Acropolis stood high over the city.
After enjoying the view, we decided there had to be a better way down. We ended up in a different part of the Plaka district, lost. Our map didn’t help because we didn’t know where we got dropped off. There was no “X marks the spot” on it. Even the locals were having trouble finding where they were on our colorful map. Maybe it was more of a caricature than a tool. After multiple requests for help, and lots of walking, we gave up on the bus idea completely, and gratefully found a taxi back to the port!
That map, the language barrier, and our misplaced confidence threw us for a loop that day. Yet, I have faced much harder difficulties than being lost in a foreign country. My marriage and health have taken some big hits, and if it wasn’t for God and His Word, I don’t know where I would be. He restored my marriage and later, my body, from cancer. During those seasons I needed a place to fix my eyes. I needed to know the way home. It’s because of God that I didn’t completely lose my footing.
Today, if you are in a trial of your own, I hope you will mark your spot. It’s not a place on a wall, or an X on a map. It’s a person; it’s God Himself.
He’s the One who will help you through.
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer, and perfecter of faith.”