Waun GPS Theology
By The Rev. Renee Waun, Unitarian Universalist Church
POSTED: November 11, 2007
Last year I decided to buy a GPS system (Global Positioning Satellites system) because I travel in the car a lot, and I had previously been using web maps and directions quite a bit. These maps and directions from the computer aren’t always as correct or easy to follow as I wanted them to be, and so even with them, I would sometimes have trouble getting to my destination on time (or at all).
Once I had the experience of riding with someone who had a GPS system in her car, and I immediately decided to get one for myself because, as I announced to my friend, “I never want to get lost again!”
So now I have this little animated screen propped over my dashboard that shows me where I am in relation to where I am going, with the added benefit of information about gas, food and lodging also indicated whenever I ask for it. Along with the visual guides on the GPS screen there is a voice that guides me every step of the way: “In .5 miles turn left.” “Turn left.” And so on.
I have decided that I love having this very calm and friendly (woman’s) voice in the car as my companion, to guide me through the intersections and the tangle of expressway ramps wherever I go. “She” keeps me company and makes me feel as if I am being mothered and cared for. And I love knowing that I will never get lost again! No more squinting at shadowed house numbers in the dark as I drive around the same block two or three times. No more driving around and around and asking for directions or stopping at gas stations just to find out where I am!
This is great for getting around traffic jams, too. Recently I was on my way to officiate at a wedding when I ran into a huge snarl of cars that was backed up on the main highway. I telephoned ahead to say that I thought I would be about an hour late. But then I remembered that the GPS can find alternate routes, so I veered off at the first exit and, with the help of my dashboard driver, kept taking back roads until I got where I was going exactly on time.
Sometimes, when I’m on my way to an address I’ve programmed into my GPS, I have to override the directions for a brief time so I can stop at a restaurant or gas station or rest area; or, if there is road construction or a tie-up on the highway. One of the things that is most endearing about the system is that the voice never scolds me for getting off track.
It never says, “No, dummy, I said turn LEFT, not RIGHT!” or “Where have you been!” or “You didn’t listen to me!” or “Why should I tell you which way to go today, you went astray yesterday!” It simply says, very pleasantly and calmly, “Recalculating.” And then finds a new way of getting me back on track every time, no matter how many times “she” has to recalculate.
It’s just great – to be feeling that sense of pure grace and acceptance – a feeling that doesn’t always come easily when we have human companions in the car (or anywhere for that matter) who sometimes get flustered, impatient, or passive aggressive with us. In fact I’ve learned something about life from this. I’ve come to appreciate the style of my GPS so much that I would like to be more like that myself. In some ways, I like to think that “GPS” stands for my “Grace Prevails System” because its voice demonstrates pure grace no matter how I am or where I am going.
Grace is what helps me to feel “mothered” and finds me when I am lost.
In most of our houses of worship we have lessons and sacred stories that emphasize the certainty that “grace prevails.” I have always thought of grace as a deep, affirming, undeserved, generous, freeing, humbling, continuous stream of loving energy and guidance. It is a welcome gift that gets me back on track, just like my Global Positioning System, except that it comes from a living Divine Source that is always there, instead of an animated piece of technology that only works when I find the “On” switch. But like my GPS, Divine grace never scolds or judges or looks backward; it merely guides me from where we are in my new location to where I want to be.
We are entering that time of year known as the “holidays” when there will be plenty of opportunities for each of us to be a traveling companion with someone else, to be a visitor to a new place, or simply to be with a friend sharing time on a beautiful day. Lots of chances for us to be instruments of that prevailing grace we would all like to experience for ourselves.
In such situations, I would like to use my GPS voice as a virtual role model, so perhaps I, in a similar way, could be grace-filled and accepting as I speak pleasantly and calmly to others. Certainly that’s how my Source would have me do it, since that’s the grace that is always afforded to me and everyone else in the world.
I like the idea that that grace prevails in life and that it comes from a broader perspective. But I also know that from where I physically stand, I could be more intentional about modeling Divine grace in the way I speak, act and create relationships with others. How about you?
May each of us find our own ways of helping grace to prevail, wherever and with whomever we happen to be!