My Dad is an accountant. After he announces where it is that he'd like to go, he sits down with a pre-made form and fills out the nice and neat figures for the trip's budget. The formula never changes. So much for hotel. So much for food. So much for travel. So much for Miscellaneous Expenses (such as tours and tickets and stuff). I have to admit, its a great focused resource for planning a trip - but it also clearly shows his own quirks about how he goes about life.
The purpose of the Planning Stage is, of course, to answer any questions you may have before you take the trip and to prepare for any contingencies of problems that might arise on the journey. Planning is done differently by everyone. My own method is to break down the questions into five categories - the 4 W's and 1 H - Who, What, When, Where, and How?
Who is going? Besides me, I like to open the doors to as many people as possible. There are some trips you make alone - either because you have to, or because, at the last minute, your brother decides to get Diabetes and gets thrown into a hospital (long story). But most of the time, I like to travel with others. There's a certain safety in numbers, but there is also a feeling of shared accomplishment - a bonding experience between you and your fellow travelers.
What are we going to do when we get there? I am the kind of person that likes to do a lot of things on my journey. I often come back more exhausted from my travels than before I left. There is a desire to cram as much of life into a short period of time as possible. But when I go with companions, I usually travel to their level of comfort. If they are a particularly energetic group, I become energetic. If I travel with a group who wants to sit in the hotel and watch TV, well, I might complain a little, but I usually watch TV with them. To influence this group, in advance, however, I like to plan activities. We might not get everything done that I plan, but the activities at least keep us motivated.
When are we going? This is probably the most important question anyone can ask on a journey. We, of course, all want to control every aspect of our journey - but this is one factor we can't always control. Sometimes our journey can begin when we least expect it. Sometimes our journey can be planned down to the last second. I've thrown together an entire vacation in minutes. I've been part of trip's that took years to plan and execute. But when we go is often a determination of outside factors that have nothing to do with the trip itself - when will we have the means to make the trip? When will we be ready to make the journey? When do we want to make the journey? This balances with questions about the journey itself. When is the best time to go? What are we gaining by going at a particular time? What are we losing? Is it better to be earlier or later than our intended date? If we are not careful, we can become obsessed with this one question and never actually start on the journey.
Where are we going? The ultimate destination may be set for us, but the steps of getting there take careful planning and often allow for a few well chosen sidetrips along the way. This is probably the most fun question to ask. We live in a country that allows us to travel where ever we want and we are provided with many diversions to choose along the path. Some of these diversions are entirely necessary places to visit - filled with awe and wonder and educational elightenment (like Cooperstown!) and some are just tourist traps designed to give us cheap thrills while we waste our time and money searching for God knows what (Like Bedrock, outside the Grand Canyon). Every trip is filled with a combination of these stops along the way. From Niagara Falls to the World's Biggest Ball of Yarn, we are an experiential group of travelers and we must find occassional off ramps on our long journey or we will surely lose the focus of why we are going in the first place.
How are we getting there? This, ultimately, is the whole point of planning. Its the last question we ask, because we have to know the answers to the previous questions before we can even begin to ask this one. The answers to this question come to us from many different venues - books, TV, Internet, magazines, friends, family, Travel Agents, etc... We have to filter through all the recommendations, advice, and short cuts to find the best possible answer to this question. When we are done, we will have our trip planned... most of the way.
Before each journey we will have doubts and fears about what might go wrong. Part of the planning cycle is to take these fears into account and plan for some contingencies. American Express made a mint off these fears by reminding us that even if our checks are lost or stolen they can be replaced with no hassle. Almost every travel company offers insurance for a journey. If we let them, our minds can run wild with the sorts of terrible things that might happen and we might never begin our journey out of fear. Its always better to make a few standard contigency plans and then hope for the best afterwards.
When we make our journey of faith, some planning is also in order. We should get to know who is making this journey with us - our fellow travelers won't all want to travel at the same pace. We should find out what we are going to do when we get there - planning our activities carefully to keep us motivated. We should try to decide when it would be best for us to make this journey, and to be prepared to go at a moment's notice. We should plan for some enlightening diversions along the route. We should figure out the best way to get to our destination. And we should make a few contingency plans for when things don't go our way, but put our trust in the Lord to get us safely to our final destination.
When we are finally done planning for our journey, and our expectations are set firmly in reality, then we can begin the next step in our journey - Packing.
3 comments:
This is an interesting analogy you are making - and your second to last paragraph makes me think about where the journey begins, in what type of setting.
The setting could be within a local church organization, in which case the analogy is relevant to the kinds of classes offered (new believers class, a doctrinal class, a Bible study class - for folks in various points on their journey).
But it's also relevant not just related to classes, but in any community of believers. Everyone will be at different points in their faith journey, and will most definitely travel at different paces. What's most important is that we all agree on the final destination, and work together to help each other reach it.
I had thought of leaving that paragraph out and just saying, "Make your own analogies..." I'm glad to see that you're doing that anyway. I was worried that nobody would understand what I was saying. ;)
On the other hand, listening to message is a journey of sorts. Your spiritual maturity will act as a filter to how that message speaks to you. For instance, if a speaker spoke about the importance of reading the Bible daily, for a new believer it would mean that he/she needs to start reading it, whereas for a more mature believer it would serve as a reminder to keep reading or to start re-reading.
I'm digging this. On to part 3!
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