<a href="http://www.halfwaytonormal.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/cornmaze2.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-505" title="cornmaze2" src="http://www.halfwaytonormal.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/cornmaze2-538x625.jpg" alt="" width="472" height="548" /></a>
<h5 style="padding-left: 330px;">Photo by Kristin Tennant</h5>
On Monday, the kids didn't have school so my friend Lisa and I took our girls and some of their friends to the <a href="http://www.reindeerranch.com/maze.html">cornfield maze at Hardy's Reindeer Ranch</a>. The sixth graders went off to explore on their own, while Lisa and I kept an eye on the five fourth-graders. As moms, our goal was to make it fun for the kids while catching up with each other as much as possible. We decided to let them lead the way, putting an end to the squabbles by devising a plan that gave each child equal turns to make decisions at each fork in the path. (Ah—the wonderful "fork in the road" metaphor enters the picture!)

As the kids made choices—<em>left here...let's go left again...how about right...no, let's go back to that last turn</em>—Lisa and I happily trailed along at the rear, chatting away. After well over an hour had passed, we still had to locate three or four of the eight "stations." The kids' once-boundless energy was beginning to wane, so we decided to give some wise, parental direction.

The only problem was, we didn't have a clue where we were. We didn't know where we had been. Everything looked the same. <strong>We had even completely lost our general sense of direction—not just because we were following, but because we were following <em>blindly</em>. I had been on auto-pilot, my street-smart brain in the "off" position.</strong>

It's not that I was really worried or that we were in any real danger. But some great life lessons began to emerge from the experience.
<h4>Metaphors are everywhere, waiting to be interpreted</h4>
I love metaphors. I believe rich, broad, life lessons are embedded in every nook of our daily lives—we just need to notice and interpret them.

Helping us with that is part of God's job. Well, to be more specific, the Holy Spirit's job. The Holy Spirit is, by definition, difficult to grasp, but <strong>this is one of the clearest ways I sense the Spirit in my life: in my occasional ability to actually <em>see</em> and interpret something that otherwise appears small and mundane—unimpressive in the large scope of things.</strong>

I can't begin to fathom how many rich moments and lessons I whiz by and miss each day. But when I do slow down and open myself up, and everything clicks, it's amazing. Those are "light bulb moments," and I believe the Spirit is responsible.

That's what happened in the corn maze, which got me thinking about two different realms of my life.
<h4>What happens when we follow blindly?</h4>
<strong>The first has to do with following other people, and how easy it is to slip into auto pilot mode.</strong> I consciously try not to be a control freak—to go with the flow, let others make decisions, give my kids some autonomy, and generally not try to orchestrate everything.

A danger lies waiting at the other extreme, though. When we slip from "following" mode to "following blindly" mode, we lose our sense of reality and our orientation toward what matters most. We suddenly find ourselves somewhere without really knowing how we arrived, or why, which means we lose all ability to jump in and be of assistance at critical moments.
<h4>Is there a difference between "blind trust" and "blindly following?"</h4>
<strong>The second metaphor formed itself around this question: What kind of follower does God want me to be?</strong> What does it look like to fully trust God? When I think of "blindly following," I also think of "blind trust," which seems like the type of trust we should have in God. But I'm starting to think maybe "blind trust" doesn't look quite like we tend to think it does.

I don't believe God wants us to turn our street-smart brains off and simply play follow the leader. I don't believe he's a fan of auto-pilot, either. If he was, he probably would have created us with real switches and knobs.

I think what the Spirit was whispering to me yesterday, in the midst of my confusion in the corn maze, was this: <strong>Follow me, but be alert. Use the tools I've given you. Keep your eyes open, and don't forget to trust yourself, too, remembering that I created you, and am in you.</strong>