The Labyrinth of Life

This past summer, my husband and I went on a little vacation, and by that I mean I went with him to work for a few days.  He travels a lot with his job.  We spent a couple of those days in Kansas City and were able to attend a Royals baseball game.  We hadn’t been anywhere in quite a while, and even though it was a “working holiday”, I was pretty excited about getting to spend time with my husband and laying out at the hotel pool while he worked.  The day we departed, he asked if there was anything particular I wanted to do while we were in Kansas City.  I had been wanting to go to the IKEA that had opened there for a while so I told him about that.  He didn’t really know what IKEA was and thought this was a questionable request.  No more was said about IKEA for the next two days, and I figured by his dismissive response earlier that we would not be making a visit.

One evening he wanted to get ready early and leave for dinner.  I was excited about where we would go.  I mean, we were in Kansas City, so I was looking forward to a good steak or some awesome barbecue.  I showered and dressed quickly and jumped in the truck.  It was a bit early for dinner, but I figured he was just ready to eat.  Now, I don’t know my way around Kansas City very well, but my husband is there on a regular basis.  I looked up and was excited to spot the IKEA building on my right.  Sweet man…he planned this!  Even though this sort of thing is not his cup of tea, he wanted to take me there before we went to dinner because I had asked.

Let me enlighten you as to the complexities of the marketing schemes incorporated by this great company.  The store layout is not like anything most Americans have encountered.  (Which should makes sense since they are a Swedish company.)  You enter on an upper floor, and it is a display only.  Here, they have all their products set up in little vignettes, so customers can better see how to implement them.  Pretty neat.  You have to follow this path that allows for very little freedom to navigate independently.  The lower floor has the products available to purchase.  This is where you fill your basket and pay.

We were enjoying ourselves, going through the little kitchens and living rooms, and sitting on all the chairs and couches.  After a bit, my husband realized he had lost his phone somewhere.  He decided he would go to the truck to check for it while I would head to the lower floor once I finished looking at the display floor.   I didn’t see him again for about 30 minutes.  I had made it to the lower floor by this time.  I was hopeful he had found the phone as I inquired, “Was it in the truck?”  “I don’t know,” he responded.  This was a puzzling statement to me.  I thought maybe he had been distracted by something he saw in the store and hadn’t gone to the parking lot yet.  “Why,” I asked.  “Because I can’t get out of this store,” he replied.  My personality forces me to find the humor in all things.  ALL things.  This condition does not always rear it’s head at the most opportune time.  As I now begin to find this funny, I also don’t understand his predicament clearly, and I can see on his face that he has yet to fully appreciate the humor in the situation.  I manage to squelch my amusement long enough to shake my head and ask, “What?”  I looked around and pointed to a big door that had a large exit sign above it, “There’s a door right there.  There are signs and arrows everywhere that say exit.”  He leaned in close to me, lifted his eyebrows while squinting, looked me straight in the eyes, lowered his voice, and with force slowly said, “It’s a LIE!”  I could hold myself no longer, and while I laughed, he explained to me how all these signs just lead you through the entire store.  When you get closer to the doors marked with “EXIT,” you can read a sign warning that it’s for emergencies only.  At best, he was lost, and at worst, he was trapped in this labyrinth of a store.

He wanted to continue his hunt for a way out alone, so I could make my way through the lower floor.  I had found a couple of things to purchase, and he knew I wanted to keep looking.  It wasn’t long, 15 minutes at the most, when I began to worry that we were separated and he didn’t have a phone.  I didn’t know if he had decided to wait in the truck, wanted me to come on, or was still in the store.  I abandoned my shopping and headed for the check out.  It was then that my husband’s predicament became clear.  IKEA is like an amusement park.  There’s one way in and one way out.  They even have little maps of their maze, just like amusement parks.  You are forced to go through the entire store to get to the check out, and that is no easy feat.  We finally found each other after I paid.  We had been in the store a long time.  We were tired, hungry, and upset over the phone.  It was still lost.  IKEA has conveniently included a cafeteria in their store for all the poor lost souls weary from their adventure.  As we approached it, my husband said, “Let’s just eat here.”  I uttered no objections, even though my heart sank a little.  This was not the dinner I had envisioned to say the least.

At one time or another, we all feel lost.  Trapped in a life we feel herded down paths we don’t necessarily want to go.  No matter what, we can’t seem to find our way out of the labyrinth.  Whether you are lost or saved, the answer is Jesus.  There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved, Acts 4:12    Jesus will save you.  No other person, or thing, under the sun can, only Jesus.  It matters not how big the problem, how difficult the circumstance, or how wretched the sin, He will show you the way out and put you on the right path.  Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me, John 14:1.    For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand and say to you: Do not fear, I will help you, Isaiah 41:13   It doesn’t get any better than that!  We read in Psalm 27 that there is nothing to fear with the Lord.  He is the light illuminating our path, the fortress protecting us.  He is our refuge and strength, and always there in troubled times, Psalm 46:1.  All you have to do is let Him do His job.  Get out from under the steering wheel, and let Him drive.  It’s time to have unlimited faith in His divine GPS.  He knows the route that leads to the exit.  Peace, calm, and security await you.

My husband eventually found his phone.  It had fallen between the cushions in one of the fifty chairs we sat in.  Little hiccup…we were back on the lower floor, but still in the store, and feared having to make the journey to Mordor to get out.  I found the nearest store attendant and asked if there was some way out of the store other than the extensive maze.  She smiled and said yes, and pointed to a door behind us.  My husband chuckled when he realized this was the same door I had pointed to at the beginning of our quest.

Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Also through Him, we have obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.  And not only that, but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope.  This hope does not disappoint, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.    Romans 5:1-5