Anne Lamotte, in her wonderful book “Traveling Mercies”, tells the story of her pastor’s best friend who – as a little girl of seven – got lost one day. The little girl ran up and down the streets of the big town where they lived, but couldn’t find a single landmark that would help her find the way home. She was very frightened, and getting desperate. Finally, a policeman spotted her, and surmising she was lost, stopped to help. He put her in the passenger seat of his cruiser, and together they drove up and down the streets of the town. The little girl looked everywhere to see if she recognized anything. For a long time, she did not. But finally, as they turned around one corner…the little girl recognized her church.

She pointed it out to the policeman, and then with a look of confident joy she told him firmly, “You can let me out now. This is my church, and I can always find my way home from here.”