Inner Navigation and the Lord’s Way

The way of the Lord is guided by the Holy Spirit. Here are three ways we can recognize how God helps us orienteer the path.

Neuroscientist Sue Barry wore a hat with a magnet in it every time she went out. No, she wasn’t trying to attract stray bits of metal or deflect impulses from UFOs. She was hoping it would help her improve her sense of direction, which had always been poor. Barry’s husband, who is also a scientist, rigged up the magnetic hat and set it so that it buzzed every time she turned north. After wearing the hat around town, she began to anticipate not just which way north was, but also “how things connect,” she says.

She eventually swapped her buzzing magnetic hat for a smartphone app, also developed by her husband, that vibrates when facing north. But with either device, it was worth the effort. She began associating certain streets and landmarks with north due to the cues from the hat and the phone, and from there she could make connections about which streets were parallel and which ones intersected. Her direction-finding skills improved, and in effect, she...