Go Farther



Photo courtesy of: www.jpupdates.com.

 In June, I had the opportunity to go Piedmont Valley Youth Bible Camp in Virginia with some friends. I was gone for about 11 days- the longest I ever remember being away from home, and definitely the longest without any family with me. We left at 5:00 am and drove the approximately 13 hours down- which was rather interesting. We started out on a Friday, stopped at a hotel and rested on the Sabbath, and were on our way again on Sunday. We arrived safely at camp, without incident. I had a great time! I slept in a tent for the first time. 10 people were in my unit- 2 counselors and 8 girls. 5 of us were in one tent... so we were squished together like a can of sardines. We were told we had 2 1/2 minutes to take showers. Then there was Line-call, every day, four times a day. The food was good. Chinese class was interesting. Don't forget morning exercises with Mr. Shen...  even though we climbed hills to get from one class to another. The weather was very "warm and balmy". There were many fun times with my friends, *Lynn* and *Rebekah*. The campfire talks by Pastor Cody were very interesting. Briefly, that describes camp.

 

 Finally, the last day came, and we left for home. We left at around 11:00 am, and we had to drive through New York City. On the way down, we went smoothly through with no problems. *Kay*, the lady who drove all of us down, was hoping for the same success on the way back. All was going well until we were almost out of New Jersey.

 "Can we stop to use the bathroom?" *John* asked.

"I wish you had asked me sooner! I don't know if there's anywhere to stop now." Kay replied.

There was a pause. "Does anyone else have to go?"

"I do." Lynn said.

I had to go, too. But I figured that if two people had to go, there was a good chance we would stop if we could. But it was not to be! A few minutes later, traffic came to a complete stop. It was about 6:30 pm.

"We could be here for two hours." Kay stated. "People have run out of gas waiting."

"What did they do?"

"They just left their cars."

 How comforting. All four of us kids had to go to the bathroom, and we might have to wait two hours! On top of that, if we didn't have a enough gas... it looked like we could be walking. We inched along like a herd of snails at 1 to 2 mph. (If we were moving at all!). We couldn't have the air conditioning on, so it was getting a little warm... especially being all the way in back with some the luggage (the rest of it was on the roof of the car). Being able to go to the bathroom was our main topic of conversation. "If it gets too bad, you can always use the bucket!" Kay would tell us. We always responded with a hearty "No!"

 To get our minds off of the bathroom (it was really all we were talking about), Kay suggested someone read from a book we started on the way down. Rebekah and John took turns. But as soon as a chapter was finished, we began where we left off- talking about the bathroom! The minutes ticked by. We would see coach buses or RVs a few cars ahead, and talk about how we wished we could go knock on their doors and ask to use the bathroom. Traffic was slow enough that we could just walk back to the van, after all! I remember at one point looking up and seeing this blimp floating over the city with a screen on the bottom playing something. (Remember the blimp!) As we inched along, the toll finally came into view. It felt like ages before we reached it. Finally we paid the toll, and crossed George Washington Bridge into New York. There was a great cry of joy- we could find a bathroom! And soon! We had been going so slow, it felt strange to go fast! And there was nice cool air flowing in! As we were crossing the bridge, I looked across and saw the same exact blimp I had seen a few hours before.

 "Didn't we see that blimp already?" I asked Lynn, pointing to it. She looked.

"I think we did!" She replied. We had only gone a few miles!

 That was at around 8-8:30 pm. We drove on the highway through NYC, not stopping to go to the bathroom.

 "Can you go faster?" John pleaded.

 Kay told him no, because what if we got into an accident? The situation would definitely be no better!

"Can we stop?"

"We don't want to get robbed." Lynn said.

"It's not worth getting robbed just to go to the bathroom." I said to Lynn... although I was starting to have second thoughts! It was stop and go through New York City, but we finally came to the toll into Connecticut.

 "Do you know how far it is to nearest rest area?" Kay asked the lady in the booth.

She thought a moment. "About 25 miles."

"Thank you!" And we were off.

"How long does it take to go 25 miles?"

"Well, if we're going 60 mph., that's a mile a minute."

"25 minutes?"

"Yes!"

There were many groans. How we wished we could go! Lynn suggested singing, but that didn't last too long. Not everyone wanted to because they to go to the bathroom so bad. Before that, Lynn was looking for another song when there were groans and laughter from up front. (Lynn and I were sitting way in the back. Rebekah and John in the next row, and Kay and another lady, *Ellen*, way up front.)

 "Did you see that sign?"

"It said, 'You've gone this far, go farther!"

"I don't want to go farther!"

It became a joke for the remainder of the trip.

 Finally we arrived at the longed for rest area. We couldn't wait to get out of that van! But then!- when we walked into the rest area the bathrooms were clear at the other end! We made it, and I sure felt like a new person after!

 Afterwards, we found a hotel for the night, because it was approaching 10:00 pm. The rest of the trip went smoothly, with only minor bathroom issues. We all made it home safely.

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 After I got home, though, I thought about that sign, "You've gone this far go farther!". Sometimes our spiritual lives seem to come to a stand-still, much as we were trapped in traffic. We have nowhere to go, we can't move. Trials come, and instead of looking to Jesus and the eternal reward of Heaven, we focus our whole attention on the present trial (like when we had to go to the bathroom, and that's where all our focus was). It's all we think and talk about. We see nothing but the trial. We may turn our minds to something else for a little bit, but sooner or later we're staring at the trial again. Eventually things may begin to go better, with some slow times. The greater part of the trial may be over, but it's still be there, and we continue to want it to be gone. And just when we cannot seem to bear it any longer, GOD may call us to "go farther". But we don't want to! We want the trial gone, and we want it to be gone now! Eventually the trial may be removed, and we realize that it wasn't so bad after all.

 

 I often look at trials that way- I just want them gone! Often I don't want to have to be positive and learn from them. But "the trials of life are God’s workmen, to remove the impurities and roughness from our characters. Their hewing, squaring, and chiseling, their burnishing and polishing, is a painful process, it is hard to be pressed down to the grinding wheel. But the stone is brought forth prepared to fill its place in the heavenly temple. Upon no useless material does the Master bestow such careful, thorough work. Only His precious stones are polished after the similitude of a palace." Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, pg. 10. GOD only sends trials to those in whom He sees something worth perfecting! Our trial with the bathroom in no wise compares to most of the trials of life, but it served to illustrate a point. It is better to submit to the trials, and come off better. May we all learn to submit to the trials GOD sends us. "Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy." James 5:11.

 

*Names with asterisks have been changed to protect privacy.