The last two weekends I spent "out in the sticks" so to speak. Last week I spent Thursday through late Saturday night at our big family reunion up Spanish Fork canyon, and the weekend before that Annette and I were at a cabin near Cedar City with a friend and her husband.
Neither of these places had any cell phone coverage and, although they're not exactly isolated, it's a significant change of pace from even the hamlet of Utah County. I think the division between places with and without cell phone coverage is significant in our modern society.
Both weekends were really fun. I like all the camping, swimming, and hiking in appropriate doses, but it's also interesting to notice how seldom I checked to see what time it was, worried about being late for something, or thought about what time I needed to wake up in the morning.
When you're out in the sticks, you go to sleep when you're tired, wake up when it's too light outside to sleep anymore, eat when you feel like it's time to eat, and go about the day at your own pace without worrying about matching everybody else's.
In his book "In the Eye of the Storm," John Groberg talked about being a missionary in Tonga and what the tiny island he was on called "boat days." This is when a ship would arrive periodically with news, mail, etc. Those days were big events and he described how it was a community experience with everyone sharing the joys and sorrows of the news and letters they received together.
Later in the book he talked about going back home to California and being impressed with the incredible hurry everyone seemed to be in. Groberg commented that perhaps heaven would be more like "boat days" back on his remote island than the frantic world we spend most of our time in.
I imagine there is no need for cell phones in the life beyond, but I also wonder if the times we spend out in the mountains with family and friends, unmolested by 24-hour news networks, voicemails, supervisors, and the unyielding demands of schedules are more a reflection of the society we'll have in heaven.
2 comments:
While I too enjoyed the leisurely activities of this past weekend, I think you may need to set your sights a little higher if floating on and swimming in that pond makes you think of heaven.
I am torn about this. I mean, I would like to think heaven is sort of leisurely, but I'm not sure it is. It seems like God has a pretty demanding schedule, frankly. Only time -- or more accurately, eternity -- will tell.
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