Just a Little Nap in the Poppy Field

Did you ever want to stop and stay where you were for awhile but your traveling companion had the energy and drive to keep moving forward? I hate that.

Sometimes a journey gets long and I get tired and the poppies are so pretty and smell so sweet that I just want to lie down to rest. I have, however, a very energetic, very determined traveling companion in Jesus. Always moving forward, that One.

You can see it in a read-through of the gospels. The disciples always seem like I feel – in awe of Jesus, stunned by His words and miracles, hoping for a moment to bask in His miracles, to absorb His teaching, to take in the crowds and maybe allow some of His residual glory to fall on them. But Jesus is always on the move forward – always moving toward His destination and inviting them to travel with Him.

There’s a verse in Mark 10:32 that makes me laugh: “They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid.” That’s me on the road with Jesus – half the time astonished, the other half afraid.

I so understand these guys, Jesus’ disciples. I mean, they’ve just seen Jesus perform miracles, heard Him teach about how hard it is for anyone to be saved, watched Him welcome children into His arms and set them up as examples for all and now He’s moving them on toward Jerusalem explaining on the way that when they reach Jerusalem, He’s going to be betrayed. Shortly thereafter, they’re engaged in a debate about who gets to sit on His left or right when He comes into power. I’m just like that.

For much of my life, I’ve been up for hitting the road with Jesus pretty regularly but this year felt different. Maybe because I’m forty-eight – very mid-life. He and I have been walking this road for a lot of years and I’ve been feeling a yen to take a nap in the poppy field. Haven’t I learned enough? Haven’t I grown enough? Haven’t I risked enough times? Haven’t I reached out enough, been stretched enough, been tested enough? Can’t we push the pause button on spiritual growth?

Not Jesus. He keeps moving toward our destination and inviting me to travel with Him. And there I am with the other disciples – astonished. With the other followers – afraid. But like the disciples I am compelled by Jesus, I know He is the genuine article, I know He is the key, the door, the gateway to the greatest adventure in the universe and as appealing as it is to snooze with the pretty poppies on the side of the road – He is the road, the Way and He is a traveling show.

What does this mean really? Having loved Him, worshipped Him, studied Him and followed Him for over forty-five years, there is more and I can choose to hang back, rest on past progress, share testimonies from old adventures and settle on sanctification lite or I can continue to follow close at His heels even if it means entering my soul’s Jerusalem.

The poppy field is so pretty, so appealing, and a nap would be so restful but I choose to be awake because generations before me waited for His appearance and I’ve been offered a ticket to ride. I don’t want to miss a thing.

How about you?