Creature Comforts
I am spending the weekend at a Men’s retreat (it’s really called a Men’s Advance) up north in Grand Rapids, MN. We get together with 160 other guys to spend time with the Lord. It is a nice reprieve from the day-to-day routines that can easily distract us. I drove the 3 hours by myself and I and I have my own room. The room is awesome and allows me to really spend quite time with the Lord.
As I was packing, I noticed how much stuff I was bringing for an event that was lasting only 2 nights. Before this weekend I thought I would only need to bring a small carry bag. As I was taking my third trip from the car to my room, I was wondering what in the world happened to that plan! I packed my computer, camera gear, video camera gear, clothes, games, food, and stuff to drink. I also brought things for helping the sleep experience be more like home. This included: a white noise generator, a fan, clock radio, and an additional pillow.
I often wondered if I was a little quirky in hauling all the “stuff” with me to help me sleep better. Even after all the things I brought; the pillow that was in my room was rock hard (I like soft pillows) – plus I brought a small pillow. I also sometimes get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, it was pitch black and I didn’t bring a “night light”. I also forgot a couple of other small things. I was just feeling a little out of whack!
This morning I asked another person how they slept last night, response: terrible. Why I asked. Because they didn’t have their spouse next to them, they usually sleep with additional blankets, and they had a bad recurring dream. As I asked others, they had various disruptions from there normal sleep routine and brought things with to help them sleep better. I was not alone!
It is easy to get used to the creature comforts that we surround ourselves with. It is easy to get distracted when everything is not in place. Even though I am not alone in bringing those small things to make things more comfortable, I will also not be distracted from spending time with the Lord because of it.
Now time to focus!