by: Denny Hook

Every year in the Fall we take a Saturday and do a leaf tour. In the past we’ve alternated between S.E. Mn, S.W. Wi, and N.E. Ia. This year we chose Iowa and decided to make it a two-day trip. Way back in July, Lucy went online looking for places to stay. I’ve never been one to plan that far ahead. It’s probably a result of all my years as a long-haul trucker and having a sleeper truck. I’d drive all day and when I got tired just crawl in the sleeper. I didn’t need to make a reservation several months ahead of time. Maybe that’s why I also wait until the last minute to do my Christmas shopping, which is more likely a guy thing. Lucy will often start buying things in January.

Anyway, she found this caboose that had been converted into living quarters near Decorah, Ia. It was complete with a kitchen, bathroom, living room, queen bed in the cupola, and 2 bunk beds. It had a large deck with a table, chairs and grill. It was located out in the hill country away from city lights and traffic. At night we looked up at the stars and could hear coyotes howling in the distance. I was able to pick fresh raspberries for breakfast from nearby bushes. The leaves were in full color, and it was beautiful and relaxing. Jim, the owner, gave us the run of the place and was a great host.

Lucy did her part by finding a place to stay. It was up to me to plan our route and the places we would visit along the way; now that was more in line with my calling. I came up with an itinerary that allowed us to see lots of Fall colors, as well as some nice stops along the way. We went to two Amish “Bent and Dent” stores and got some good buys on staple groceries. We stopped at a mom and pop orchard and bought a bag of apples. We toured a small cheese factory in Waukon. We ate lunch there, bought some cheese, and indulged ourselves with their homemade ice cream. Our next stop was a free guided tour of Montauk. It was Governor Larabee’s mansion built in 1874. It sits on a cliff overlooking the small town of Claremont. It is completely original with all the furniture and décor, and much of it is priceless. We made a quick stop at a Jewish store in Postville but didn’t buy anything. Our last meal before heading home was at Dotzy’s in Elgin, which was previously owned by Jim’s daughter, and his grand-daughter was our waitress. The décor was very rustic and unique including the entire floor inlaid with 280,000 pennies. The food was great! As an added perk for staying in the caboose, the owner treated us with a free fresh pan baked chocolate chip caramel cookie with ice cream and a cherry on top. Talk about sugar overload! It was so big we couldn’t eat it all and took the rest home.

Even though our trip was just an overnighter, I can’t believe how much preparation we had to do. I had to put a new exhaust on the Suburban, change the oil and fill it with gas. I had to take plenty of cash as the Amish stores and orchard don’t accept debit cards. In addition to one suitcase with extra clothes, we had jackets, coolers with drinks, lunches and snacks. Oh, I forgot to mention we brought our two dogs along also. So now we’ve got an extra kennel, dog food and dishes, treats, leashes, chew toys, blankets and doggy bed. I had to put the second seat down to have room for them. The back behind the third seat was packed full. As I mentioned, we bought things along the way, so we were having to rearrange everything to accommodate more stuff.

Often, I will have a verse or passage of scripture from the Bible come to my mind that applies practically to a situation. In this case it was when Jesus sent out his disciples to preach and heal the sick. He told them to take nothing for their journey, which implies it was more than an overnighter. Now that’s radical! Seriously, take nothing? Just go without any preparation or stuff? The only thing they had was the clothes on their backs and the power and authority given to them by Jesus. It was also a test of their faith, and as they went, they had a place to stay, food to eat, others were blessed, and they returned with joy. Fast forward 2,000 years and our culture is so stuff oriented we can’t go anywhere without it. I think of everything we took for just an overnighter let alone a journey. Yet, as disciples of Jesus, he has given us the same power and authority, and we are still commissioned to go. Granted, maybe Jesus isn’t sending us on a long journey or a mission’s trip, which currently would take a lot of preparation and planning. He just says “Go, tell someone and meet their needs”. That may be to your neighbor, co-worker, friend, relative or stranger. Now how much preparation is required or how much stuff do we need to drag along for that? Hmmm. I wonder if it isn’t so much the lack of desire to go, but our stuff that keeps us from it. Think about all the stuff we buy and the time and energy we spend to maintain it. We have so much stuff we rent storage sheds to keep it in. Then after we’re tired of it, we have a garage sale so we can buy more new stuff. Our stuff keeps us so preoccupied we tend to lose focus. Often, we let the urgency of our stuff crowd out the important things, and we miss the blessing and joy which comes from ministering to others. Jesus also said that our lives do not consist of the abundance of our possessions. Maybe we don’t need all the stuff we think we just got to have.

There was this rich man who owned a lot of stuff, and he came to Jesus and said he would follow Him. Jesus, knowing how important this guy’s stuff was to him told him to go and sell everything, then come and follow Him. The guy went away sad, because he couldn’t give up his stuff. Jesus isn’t against us owning stuff, He just doesn’t want it to be the most important thing in our lives. Sometimes we don’t stop to think how much our stuff “to do and have” can control us. I think I’ll leave you with a final thought; Whoever cooks a turkey will cram as much stuffing inside the turkey as possible. Maybe we should all reflect on how much stuff we are cramming into our lives. Oh boy, I just looked at my “To Do” list and have a lot of stuff to do and take care of.  What? Didn’t I listen to a word I just said?