• faith
  • life
  • motherhood
  • books
  • family
  • home
  • food
  • travel
  • Nav Social Icons

  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • blog
  • about
  • Beautycounter
  • podcast
  • design
chelsea eubank

chelsea eubank

stories + graces of everyday life with God

  • about
  • podcast
  • Design
  • Shop
  • clean beauty
  • contact

living for the map or listening to Jesus

03/27/2023 · In: faith

Photo by Katie Moum on Unsplash

At any moment, I can be overwhelmingly in love with the moment I’m in and daydreaming about something different. Not an entirely different life, but a Mm, what would it be like to not have so many details and needs to meet today? or Where could we travel to in the next few years, are my kids too young for Hawaii? or What will I be like when the seasons change again?

Is this normal? Who knows.

What I do know for absolutely certain is that God calls us to our lives.


For over 10 years, my family traveled the same route with the same stops to the same island of Florida for a week at the beach. I can still tell you, years later, that at this hour of the trip we’d stop to fill up the gas tanks, how much time later we’d pull into Steak N Shake and how much time you had to finish that book before we stopped at Wal-Mart for groceries.

Similarly, it’s easy to operate in my life as if it’s plotted pins on a map and not only should I be familiar with the stops, but I ought to know my destination down to the 25 speed limit sign at the island limits.

But that is not real life. And it’s definitely not the faith-not-sight life Jesus invites me into.

I heard Dr. Alicia Britt Chole say recently that “reality is a friend (and denial is an enemy) of intimacy with God.”

Life, with its unrelenting, stark, remarkable way is not a map to master but a river to ride in, with God seated alongside. Or, another image that has stayed with me. Imagine sitting in the driver seat with Jesus in the passenger seat, throwing the map out the window and saying, “Just chat and listen to me, I’ll tell you when to turn.”

It’s tempting to measure our okayness with life on whether we know the plan. Comfort is a companion if we feel confident right now of decisions we’ll make 6 months or 2 years from now. If we know where we’re headed. If we know why we are where we are, and in my case, why my girls are where they are.


Living for the map is both easy and exhausting. Living with a Person takes effort and is more enduring.

Think about all the possible life routes to take (or not), all the possible voices to heed (or not), all the possible needs to meet (or not). By living for “the map,” I aim to do the impossible thing of trying to do all the things all the time in all the right ways. And it’s like relying on a 20 year old Garmin GPS.

But to prioritize a humble posture of staying before the Lord, no matter the clarity or clutter of the road, is to release the pressure of getting it perfect, surrender the approval of others and be as present as possible to the all-sufficiently beautiful love, care and presence of God.

By: Chelsea Eubank · In: faith · Tagged: abiding, Kids, life with God, reflection, trust, wisdom

you’ll also love

Mother’s Day Weekend 2023
on escaping, hard days and sleepiness
Joy Triggers

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Next Post >

Joy Triggers

Primary Sidebar

Search

I'm Chelsea... a wife, mom and friend passionate about cultivating a rich life with God.

This blog is equal parts family stories, faith reflections and creative delight.

I read a lot. I eat peanut butter every day. I like shopping secondhand. I love hosting people in our home.

Writing helps me pay attention, and paying attention keeps me grateful.

Glad you're here!

Series on the Blog

  • Reading and Listening
  • Current Read
  • Joy Triggers
  • Instagram Archives
  • A Few Things
  • grateful list
  • Clothe Yourself With
  • Perspectives
  • Truth To Consider

THE PODCAST

the email

archives

topics

abiding anna art & design beautycounter biblical truth birthdays body image books clothe yourself series crushing on current read faith family food goals God God's presence grace gratitude him holidays inspirational words Jesus joy triggers julia Kids learned life life with God love marriage me motherhood music photography prayer reading and listening recipes reflection simplicity social media spiritual growth travel trust wisdom

Footer

Listening

  • BEMA
  • Pray the Word
  • Church of the City
  • Elisabeth Elliot
  • Raising Boys and Girls

Reading

  • Jasmine Holmes
  • Henri Nouwen
  • Justin Earley
  • Helen Smallbone
  • Darrell Johnson

engaging the Church & kindling love for God one testimony at a time

Listen in as people just like you share about their life with God.

Check out my podcast!

Copyright © 2023 · Theme by 17th Avenue