God's Pointing Star

In December 2007, I went to Miller, Missouri to clear trees and branches down from a recent ice storm.  It was the week of Valentine filled snow and cold.  The high for the week was our first day.  It reached 26 degrees with a 30-mile wind.  The morning we returned home, it was six, yes, that is six degrees.  It was so cold that the oil would not pump in our chainsaws and ice chips froze the sprocket.

The trip was very successful and interesting.  A new GPS guided our disaster relief team to Miller. We logged in the address of the Baptist Camp we were to say and we headed out.  When we left Demopolis the GPS said, “Turn right.”  The GPS was programmed with a lady’s voice and the GPS people named her Amanda.  We thought it appropriate that a lady should give us directions.  At least she was mounted on the windshield and not in the back seat.

As we approached Interstate 59/20 in Cuba, Amanda said, “Turn left and proceed on the motorway.”  We could watch our position on the GPS.  It named each road and driveway while in route.  We tried to confuse Amanda, but if we made a turn she would correct our direction.  When we would exit for a service station, she would make adjustments.  We watched her for more 14 hours and more than 700 miles.  She was flawless.

When we exited the Interstate in Mt. Vernon, Missouri, we were doing fine until Amanda told us to exit to the right.  The road was a one-laner.  We lost sight of lights from the city.  Broken limbs and downed trees lined each side of the road.  A couple had followed us all the way.  We had two-way radios to stay in contact.  I radioed Vick, the woman driving, and told her I thought Amanda might be wrong on this one.  She said her husband and her thought we were lost, but had not said anything.

Right dab in the middle of no where Amanda said, “Turn right.”  There was no right turn.  We slowed to a stop and I commented on being lost.  I had noticed a driveway at the moment Amanda said turn right.  I told the driver and another fellow that I thought there was a small sign in the yard back at the driveway.

The driver, under the direction of the other fellow and me, turned the Disaster Relief trailer around on that one-laner and headed back toward the driveway.  Did I say that it was dark?  Amanda said, “Turn left.”  As we turned left, on the left was a small sign that read Baptist Camp.  There was no light anywhere.  As we meandered our way up this hill suddenly there was light.  There she was a beautiful camp atop a hill over looking this beautiful valley.  We did not realize how beautiful it was until the next morning.

For the whole week, Amanda would guide us back to the camp.  Regardless of our assignment, Amada allowed us to see the beauty of God’s creation on a different route each day.  Amanda made a believer of our team.  The best part, we did not have to stop and ask directions.

Two thousand years ago some wise men used the GPS system to find the light of the world, Jesus.  It was God’s Pointing Star.

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.  . . . they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was (Matthew 2:1-2, 9b KJV).

Merry Christmas