A 6 Hour 400 Mile Distraction

The smell of hot peanuts filled the back seat of a tan 1987 Volvo at 4 AM, and it was making me sick. But I had to let it ride because we were still at least two hours out from home and we needed my friend to stay awake so we could get Allie back to school for her finals. I bet you're wondering how we got into this situation.

Around mid-morning the day before we heard that Emery, our favorite emo band, was going to be playing a show in Orlando Florida that evening. This was the closest they had ever come, and we weren't sure if we would get a chance to see them again.

We did the math and realized that if we left in the next hour, we could make it. It was only a five-hour and 400-mile trip from North Charleston, SC, and it was 8 hours before the show. All our schedules were scot-free... Oh, except for Allie who had three finals the next day. But that was tomorrow. This was happening today. Wasn't Jesus the one that said not to worry about tomorrow because today has enough worries of its own?

So, with bad hermeneutics justifying our trip, five of us packed into my friend's tan Volvo and took the five-hour trip to Orlando. We arrived with time to spare, loved the show, talked to the band, got autographs, and then began our trip back home. By this point, it was after midnight and if everything went according to plan, we would get home mere hours before Allie's first final at 8 AM. Of course, things did not go according to plan, and the Volvo limped home. We barely made it under the wire to get Allie home in time!

By God's grace, Allie is super smart and aced her exams on no sleep. I will say that I cannot guarantee the same success for you. I do not recommend you test the Lord your God like we did.

This trip was a big distraction to what was most important. Can you imagine if Allie flunked out of college because we decided to go to this concert on a whim? 37-year-old me would have kicked 20-year-old me for trying something that stupid.

Perhaps as you prepared (or are preparing) for finals, it was not the big distractions that messed you up, but the small ones. Either way, distractions can keep us from what's most important. Tomorrow Nehemiah gives us helpful a crash course on how to defeat distraction and complete God's work. I hope you'll join us for worship.