Where Do You Want To Wake Up?

Years ago, after Pat and I sold our rural vacation cabin, I still wanted to be able to get away on the spur of the moment--even in the dead of winter. So we bought an RV. And about that same time our local military base opened up a primitive camping area--no water, no electricity, no fire pits. Just scattered gravel pads for self-contained campers. Oh, did I mention beach access? Wildlife? Wetlands? Unobstructed views of the Olympic Mountains, San Juan Islands, the Strait of Juan De Fuca, and Vancouver Island (on a good day)? Well... we've had to learn to ignore the sounds of gunfire from the nearby small arms range.

The area is called Rocky Point. And one winter morning we decided that we would pack up the RV and head out to Rocky Point after work on Friday. But by Friday afternoon, I was tired. I began to question our earlier plans. Was it really worth the effort to pack and haul the RV out for just a short stay, I wondered. And I began to express my misgivings to my husband. As I began to go through all the pros and cons, Pat sighed. He looked at me and said, "Where do you want to wake up?" And that simple question made me stop short.

I don't know about the rest of you, but sometimes I will set a goal that is perfectly reasonable. I will start planning on how to reach it and then I will get overwhelmed... distracted by other events, worn out by thinking about preparations, lost in a sea of details and to-do's. And soon I find that I'm ready to quit, because in the midst of the "whelm" I've lost my focus; I've forgotten the goal. And that's when I need to ask myself, "Where do you want to wake up?"

Maybe you have a goal--to finish school, to get out of debt, to try a new career. Maybe you have been meaning to take a family vacation before the kids are grown and gone, to visit those elderly relatives, to extend or to request forgiveness. Maybe it has to do with relationships... or to settle once and for all where you will spend eternity.

We woke up at Rocky Point! And these days we can pack up, hitch up, and be set up at Rocky Point in less than an hour. And the moment that we finish our labors and start to unwind, all the earlier effort is forgotten.

Where do YOU want to wake up?

Pastor Kit