Blessed in Being

When I was a freshman in high school, I went was involved in a road bicycle group named "DeCycles." This particular year, we were scheduled to cycle approximately 1,300 miles.

It was my first youth trip as forty of us kids packed our bags, jumped in a bus and made our way from Ionia, Michigan to Sault Sainte Marie, Mi. This trip takes about five and a half hours on a bus, plus extra time for stops.

All of us kids were pumped as we finally got on the road. We put in training and spent plenty of time together preparing for this trip. This trip was going to be worth all the time and effort we invested. You could almost see the buzz of excitement in the air. Our caravan consisted of a bus, three vans, a motor home, and a pick-up truck; and we were now on the road.

It was an hour into the trip when I realized I was in trouble. Suddenly, I realized I was in the middle of experiencing one of those horrible traveling ventures. I forgot to go to the bathroom before I left!

I thought about holding it the whole way (another 4.5+ hours), but I knew this was impossible. Plus, I would refuse to put myself in that sort of misery. Through myths I've heard, holding it can cause all sorts of bodily problems.

I didn't want to be "that" kid. The one that says an hour into the trip, "Can we stop, I have to go to the bathroom?" With all of the other vehicles, and on a bus full of youth, what was I supposed to do? I thought maybe I could pee in a bottle, and I would have if there weren't as many kids, but there was no way I could have accomplished this with the bus being so packed full of other kids.

Emergency!

I could now feel my pulse throbbing in my bladder. The pressure in my gut was intolerable. It was pure misery. I couldn't sit, I couldn't stand. The situation was to the point where I was either going to pee my pants, or my bladder was going to bust in my gut and cause all sorts of issues. I had a one track mind. Nothing else in the universe existed except the situation at hand. My ears tuned out the noise from the kids around me. I couldn't even focus on people enough to have a conversation. I had entered into a mission, ready to do anything to accomplish my goal. Alarms were going off in my body that nobody else could see. If people could have seen, they would have seen sirens and red flashing lights and the buzzes of fire trucks as they race through red lights. This was serious.

My only option was to pretend to be sick. I figured this would be a better excuse than having to go number one. A bathroom break an hour into the trip would only result in other people giving me crap the rest of the trip. There's no way I was going to begin a two week youth trip with such a humiliating experience.

I approached our youth pastor and told him I felt like I was going to throw up. He got on the radio with all the other drivers and we soon pulled off into a gas station.

While all the other kids watched me get off the bus, I briskly made my way into the bathroom.

AHHHHHH. At that moment, nothing felt better! Relief! OMG (oh my goodness) :)

Smile! "This is the life!"

PPS (post pee shivers)

After the duty was done, I had one of the biggest smiles throughout all my teen years. I forgot what a wonderful time going to the bathroom was. I knew from this moment on, I would appreciate every time I had the opportunity to go to the bathroom.

Not that this was the right thing to do, but I got back on the bus and told everyone I threw up. This resulted some sort of sympathy towards me, and for the rest of the trip I was given my own seat instead of having to share with someone else. The whole situation worked out perfect, and I was one happy dude.

The thing I remember the most is how wonderful it was to go to the bathroom! The relief. The comfort in knowing that everything was going to be O.K. My bladder didn't bust. I didn't have to walk funny. I didn't have to put up with that throbbing bladder any longer. It was over! Thank God.

I tell this story partly because I find an immense amount of humor in the whole situation. I also tell this story because it reminds me how accustomed to norms I can become. Whether its going to the bathroom, eating, drinking, sleeping, breathing, or whatever else; it can be extremely easy to forget how much of a blessing these things are. Its easy to take these blessings for granted, and obsess ourselves with "more important" aspects of life. When events or decisions don't turn out to our advantage, its easy to focus on the negatives.

I recently jacked up my left thumb during a basketball game. I honestly think its broken. When I hit it wrong, I don't think of what a wonderful day it is, I'm thinking, " That Hurt!"

Pain, situations, drama, and the petty areas of life so easily consume our minds. If fact, some people spend their whole lives dealing with the "more important" areas. Not that I'm against the so called "important" areas of life. I'm more concerned with finding the right balance.

Its interesting to see the way Jesus escapes for prayer in the Gospels. As was his custom, he would leave his disciples and the crowd that seemed to follow Him to spend time with the Father. The Gospel writers all mention this discipline of Jesus.

I continue to find this habit of Jesus extremely interesting. Not that I have all the answers, but I'm curious why the Messiah exemplified this solitary prayer. Did Jesus soak Himself in the presence of God for a reason? Did it give Him strength? Did it help Him stay in tune with God the Father?

Then I ask:

Should each day I live reflect my pursuit to follow Jesus? If so, am I willing to let go of the "more important" parts of life and soak myself in prayer? Will this help me cherish the blessings of life?

Now you may be asking, "Prayer helps us appreciate going to the bathroom?"

I hope you follow me to a larger and more general point. The Spirit of God breathes life into creation. If we accept and follow Christ with everything He stood for, we'll enter into a Kingdom where life itself is abundant. Its a beautiful life! If we interact with this Spirit, life won't have to be about the so called "more important." In fact, in this Kingdom we'll be blessed when we're down and out, sad, persecuted, and when we don't have things figured out.

As we continue to progress in living out reality through the eyes of Jesus, we'll find that we're blessed in simply being.