“Would you like to know something I learned about whales yesterday?” she asked.

I’ll admit, the women’s change room at Newcastle Ocean Baths was a strange place to be talking about whales, but what the heck.

“Of course,” I answered happily.

She went on. “Did you know they’ve discovered that the bacteria inside whales are magnetic? Scientists think it’s these bacteria that help whales sense Earth’s magnetic fields. It might be the presence of these tiny organisms that enables them to navigate and know True North.”

We parted company, and I promised to think more about this surprising discovery.

At first, my mind wandered to the bacteria within us—maybe we could blame them for a lot of things! But that thought was just a distraction. What really intrigued me was the idea of True North. What guides us? What leads us forward?

If Christ is our True North, what do we orient towards? His compassion. His love and acceptance of all people. His humility. His willingness to help those in need. His forgiveness. His search for justice and righteousness. His deep connection to God’s purposes. What qualities of Jesus are you drawn to?

I have found Christ to be my True North. To be a fixed point in a spinning world, orienting me when everything else feels uncertain. To be my internal compass keeping me steady as I walk the path of the disciple.

Proverbs 3:5-6 reminds us:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."

May we keep our hearts attuned to the One who leads us onward.

Anne Bonnefin
Communications Co-ordinator
Australia Mission Centre