Kimberly has been struggling for months with her job at an Asheville animal shelter. The physical labor is too strenuous for her, and the lack of structural support forces her to constantly fight for resources that should simply be allotted to her–and that is directly contrary to her nature. She has been looking for a new job and saw an ad for an admin assistant at a Presbyterian church. Wanting a better look, we went to visit this last Sunday. We both liked it a lot, and she applied for the job on Monday. She would be great at it. Unfortunately, 50 people have already applied for that opening through only one job website, which was posted just 5 days ago.
What should we hope for, plan for, invest in? Which is the best path to take through this jungle of life? Sometimes discernment feels more like reading tea leaves than weighing pros and cons and finding a clear way ahead. The confluence of situations at times seems to suggest the way forward, but that has often led me into deadends–jobs I had to quit for my own sanity, relationships that ended up worse instead of better, decisions that lost time and money with no benefit. When two people’s dreams and fears, gifts and weaknesses must be accounted for, it makes that process so much more difficult. So we pray and leap… and sometimes end up in the ditch. At that point we can either decide that God wanted us in the ditch (we made the right choice) or that he’s teaching us a lesson about making better decisions (we made the wrong choice). Which is it? Hindsight is rarely 20/20. Sometimes it’s straight-up blind.
Our approach to guidance feels very haphazard to me, and I haven’t found a solution for that. Looking back on past choices and their results gives me very little confidence in my ability to find the best way through this tangle called life. If we eventually stumble out of the jungle near the right spot, I will be as surprised as anyone. In the meantime, if we go in circles because we can’t read a map, let me at least be a good travel companion. A good friend in the swamp is better than a bad friend in the penthouse suite.
Janathan Grace Reflections 
just a note from over here in my corner of the jungle. There are a lot of thorny vine things over here. And a lot of poop on the path…. when I can make out a section that kind of looks like it could have once been a path… or maybe some big animal just skooched his butt along here for awhile. But when the sunlight shines through the canopy making the air a flickering panorama of brilliant greens…, I just breath deeply and stand there and look up for awhile. Just thought I’d send greetings, loving thoughts , and a virtual hug your way….. shared with Kimberly too.