The older retired couple enjoyed their daily routine of reading the daily paper each morning in bed with fresh brewed cups of coffee on the end tables by their bed.
The older couple knew it was past time to size down. Both of them could barely walk, but they were not ready to go through their son's things even though it had been thirty two years since he had been presumed dead following the two week forest search. It had been a terrible, devastating time and all they could do is close and lock his bedroom door.
Immediately, after hearing the news of their son being lost in the forest they had rented a plane and literally dropped fifty compasses over the forest where their son's last location could be verified. Their son had ran into the forest calling after the family dog. Both their son and the dog had never been seen again.
Their son was a fast runner. The track medals in his bedroom could testify to that fact. He was a new driver and had stopped the car by the forest to give the dog a break. A motorist driving by reported that the dog had bolted into the forest with their son quickly running after him. Neither the dog or their son had ever been seen again. Local people from the area said that fifteen feet inside the forest was enough to become lost and it was a very dark forest to navigate in.
The word "navigate" had given the thought of a compass to the couple. Maybe it wasn't too late for their son, so they dropped the fifty compasses. But after two weeks of searching it was declared to no longer be a search and rescue situation.
As the older man sipped his coffee he reached for the paper. the wife had already pulled out the puzzle page and was beginning to ask a puzzle question when the ring of the phone interrupted.
The couple screened their calls so they listened intently for the message which said, "Hi, this is Al. Just making sure you read today's headlines. Thinking of you. I called the newspaper and told them about you doing the compass drop. Don't be surprised if they call. Talk to you later".
The man shakingly set his coffee on the end table and fanned open the front page of the paper. He paused, adjusted his glasses, then read out loud, "Kansas family lost in the dark forest claim they were able to navigate to highway after finding an old compass". The couple wept.
The reason I wrote the "Compass Writing" is to encourage others that no matter where they are or what they are going through there are strong hopes from others for them to find the way to move past a trauma or difficulty. Generations like compasses have shown direction during hard times, showing the way we need to go. Let's look for these compasses and directions that lead ways for progress, ways to succeed and to find how the direction they show can apply to our own setting right now. There are people in our life who are like a compass of showing ways for good, ways of having things better and ways of being our best by moving in a forward direction for the benefit of all. These people have come across many compasses during their lifetime and made a decision to take a forward direction by being the best they can be not ever knowing how much good they have brought into someone's life.
We just don't know how much good a compass can do.
We just don't know how long it will take.
But for sure someone, somewhere will benefit from the encouragement that went before.
