We’re going out of town tomorrow, so all of that is on my mind…which means you’ve gotta hear about it.
Going out of town is always an adventure in our family.
It begins when plans are made weeks or perhaps months earlier. It reaches its zenith during the night-before scramble, where we race around the house trying to find that one pair of pants we wanted to take but didn’t bother to set aside even though you knew we were going out of town Lauren and you know those are my vacation pants.
Sorry, where was I?
After the scramble of last-minute packing is through and the day dawns, it’ll be time to hop in the car. Depending on how far away the destination is (for us it’ll just be a few hours away in Memphis, but it’ll feel farther than that), you might have a day or two of driving ahead of you before arriving at the place your heart desired. Unless you chose to fly, in which case expect delays of 2-3 hours as your flight is re-routed. And by 2-3 hours we mean never. Thank you for flying with Delta. The point is, wherever you end up going, be it Disney World, or Six Flags, or Dollywood, there is one constant of which you can be sure, one constant that is as reliable as the North Star:
You will be standing in line.
Here, I made a handy pie chart:
Now you might think that chart is incorrect, and maybe so. To be fair, “driving there” is, itself, a form of standing in line. I mean you’re not “standing” per say, but it is a long line of cars and the closer you get the slower you move and even though the sign says “2 miles” until you’re there, and you think to yourself “that’s only like two minutes…” the next thing you know you’ve listened to the entire White Album twice and the “2 miles” sign is still staring at you…
…
Sorry, I blacked out there for a second.
Look no one likes to wait in line, but let it be a lesson for you. Someone has to be in first place and someone has to bring up the rear…
But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.
Matthew 19:30
Now I know Jesus isn’t talking about waiting in line at Magic Springs. In fact the context is of “first” and “last” in prominence and importance. Jesus’ point is to say the one who is humble and does not seek to be the best, is the person whom the Lord will exalt.
So while the temptation may be to elbow your way to the front of the line, or honk at the guy in front of you to hurry up and park already, remember when you are on vacation to take your chill pill, take your reminder to be a humble and patient, and, for the goodness’ sake, take your favorite pair of pants, I cannot stress that enough.
~ Matthew