As an introduction, let me first explain who I am, and what the title means to me. It’s specific to my own life, but I believe that many men will find it applies to them as well.
I am a veteran, an outdoorsman, and have even guided professionally. Reading terrain and maps is as natural to me as reading these words is to you. When you understand them, they provide information about where you are, they can provide direction, they advise you of the obstacles and hazards in your path, and any areas such as swamps and ravines that you likely wish to avoid. It is a language that I speak fluently.
Many years ago, while attending a selection course for a special operations assignment, I was dropped off at night, in the middle of no-where with a rifle, a rucksack, and a pouch full of map sheets and a compass. I was not given my location, but was provided a destination. Sounds easy enough for someone skilled in navigation. The first thing I had to do was determine where I was, so I took out the first map, and oriented it to the North, and started comparing the lines on the map to the terrain I could see. The problem was worsened by the darkness, but there was one landmark in the distance. A single radio antenna with the red strobe lights. I took my compass and obtained the azimuth to the tower, and started studying the maps to see if I could use it to at least give me a general idea of my location. As luck would have it, there were several towers indicated on the maps and no way to identify the one I could see. Nothing left to do but pick up my rifle and my rucksack, and move to a different location, with more visible landmarks. A good rule of thumb in long distance navigation is to stay to the high ground, because the travel is generally easier and what elevation you give up, must likely be re-gained later. I started climbing.
To make a long story short, using the techniques I was trained in, the information provided in the maps, and after many hours of walking under the stars, I was able to pinpoint my location, and only then was I able pick the route that I would eventually use to take me to my destination, and the welcome ride back to base.
The significance of the title is that in my life, for the last 20 years or so, I have been trying to find my way thru unfamiliar ground, without the aid of a map and compass. I succeeded not only in getting lost, but in the darkness, I have given up so much high ground, and have been fighting my way thru the swamps, ravines and gullies. It was so hard to climb to higher ground so I continued marching downhill in the darkness, into more and more treacherous terrain, never seeing or recognizing the dangers surrounding me, or the ones in my path.
A year ago, a man found me wandering. He was a kind and compassionate man, and he pointed towards the high ground. Atop a hill, he pointed out a cross and a place to rest. Like the radio tower I once saw in the distance, it looked so far away. Still, with his encouragement, I picked up the burden I had carried all these years and started climbing. A week passed, and I seemed no closer, but this man would stop by from time to time and point the way. I think he knew he couldn’t carry my burden for me, but he was able to lift me to my feet every time I stopped, and supported me as best he could as I marched on. Eventually, I reached that distant hilltop, and the rest that was waiting there for me. I rested awhile under the cross, and then as I rose to continue my journey, another man, a man named Jesus helped me to my feet, lifted the burden from my shoulders, and carried it for me as we walked toward home.
Thank you Dale, for first pointing out the way, and for your Love and encouragement as I took those first difficult steps. Sometimes you don’t need a map or to even know where you are, but just a person to point the right direction.
ManWithoutAMap 