I spent a couple of days at a retreat center last winter and I was happy to find that there was a labyrinth outside, at the back of the property. I don’t know if you are familiar with labyrinths, but if you’re like me, you may have gotten the impression that they are sacred, holy spaces. At Spirit in the Desert (in Carefree, AZ), the labyrinth is situated right next to a residential street, and from the “sacred” path, you can see a couple of road signs:

Keep Right

Stop Ahead

I had to shake my head at first – they seemed so out of place! More careful consideration made me realize, though, that these street signs were a reminder to me that:

• God can use anything as a sign to anyone, and He doesn’t limit his methods to the “sacred & holy.”
• God loves us too much to stop trying to get our attention! Just in case I didn’t get something from the “sacred & holy”, He posted some glaringly obvious signs right across the street.

Here’s what these two signs said to me:

Keep Right

On the path of the labyrinth, a narrow path, it’s important to share the space with others. Just like when we drive, we “Keep Right” to stay in our own lane and to keep from hurting or hindering ourselves & others. This way we can all:

• share the road
• walk the path
• do life together.

Stop Ahead

To which I say, “DUH!”

There are definitely “stops” up ahead in spite of (or maybe because of) our best efforts to keep things moving. Some of these stops seem pretty inconvenient to a driver with an insatiable need for speed! Constant motion is applauded by our world, and we subscribe to a pace that eventually leaves us with only one option: the screeching halt.

Maybe if we took some scheduled stops ahead we would find our stride – that balance of the sacred & the obvious, the holy & the utilitarian – where humanity and divinity most assuredly collide.

Labyrinth at Spirit in the Desert