Maps and Snapshots

When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I may do for you before I am taken from you.” Elisha said, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.” [Elijah] responded, “You have asked a hard thing, yet if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.” – 2 Kings 2:9-10 (NRSV) 

“There’s a difference between saying to people, ‘Here’s a map,’ … and saying to people, ‘Here are some snapshots from the trip I took when I walked that road.” (Glennon Doyle, quoted in The New York Times, May 7, 2025) 

I used to be so great at giving advice. Back in the day, I knew exactly what people needed to do, and I was only too happy to map it out for them. I even wrote a whole book (now mercifully out of print) about marriage. Today, I can hardly imagine the gall.   

In those years, I thought that the older I got, the more maps I would have in my collection. I imagined how freely my wisdom would flow and how eagerly folks would flock to hear it. Instead, the older I get the more apt I am to show people a photo of a moment in time, and then to sit with them while together we make of it what we will. 

Elisha has followed Elijah all this way and wants all the advice his master has to offer—and more. But Elijah has travelled long enough to know there is no map. There is only this moment, there is only sitting in it and wondering together. 

Prayer
Holy One, we wander and we wonder and we wander some more. Grant us companions for the journey. Amen.

About the Author
Rev. Jennifer Garrison (formerly Brownell) is a writer, spiritual director and pastor living in the Pacific Northwest. Her published work most recently appeared in the book The Words of Her Mouth: Psalms for the Struggle, available from The Pilgrim Press.