Lost in the Maze

Sometimes life can feel a little bit like a huge labyrinth, with more twists and turns and dead ends and no easy way out or obvious sign postings to elucidate you.


This morning, as most mornings I sat in the quiet, savouring the aroma and flavour of my coffee and communing with God (He must be a coffee drinker-he joins me most mornings!)
I was just letting my mind wander a little, while I thought about the things & people I was so thankful for, and those I wanted to lift in prayer, making mental lists: to dos, to pray fors, we all have them... and I found myself thinking about the ancient Greek myth of the Minotaur and the labyrinth. I'm not sure just how I got there, and I shook my head, momentarily perplexed, but you'd be surprised the rabbit trails this mind of mine can wander down!
Anyway....I discovered there was a lesson there. I did Google the myth, to make sure I remembered the story correctly, and I had. The gist of the story, at least the pertinent bits, for those of you who are not so familiar with the myth, is this: Because of the loss of a battle, or the murder of their king, the Cretans demanded tribute from the Athenians. The tribute was to be 14 attractive youths, 7 boys & 7 girls, who were left the midst of a labyrinth to be devoured by the Minotaur (a half man-half bull creature). After several of these sacrifices a young man named Theseus volunteered to go with the intent of destroying the beast & freeing his people from further sacrifice. The Cretan princess, Ariadne fell in love with Theseus and gave him a ball of thread to help him navigate the maze once he had succeeded in killing the Minotaur.
Once I reconsidered the tale, and my current state of mind it began to make sense. Some days I feel as though I am in the midst of a complicated maze and I don't know how to find my way out. I find myself doubling back, retracing my steps, winding up in dead ends and blind alleys, not only trying to reach my goal, find a way out, but to avoid the lurking beast. But like Theseus, I have the secret to the maze. He had a skein of wool to unwind as he went to mark his path back out. I have the Word to light my path and the knowledge that if I keep my eyes fixed on Jesus He will lead me through the labyrinth.