Packing Up

I am, once again, packing my bags. The Youth Group will be leaving for their annual Labor Day Retreat this Saturday. Our destination is about an hour from home. We will return home on Monday before lunch. Just enough time to do laundry, catch up on my sleep and nap before bedtime.
Part of the preparation for any youth group trip begins with a letter sent to parents and youth. This packet includes permission forms, emergency contact numbers and a packing list. This packing list is always detailed and helps guide the youth and their folks as they decide what to bring along. The list may contain such items as a jacket (we live in North Dakota and should be prepared for snow at any time), personal hygiene items (please shower while we are gone!) and miscellaneous paraphenalia for whatever adventure we are embarking upon.
You can always tell when Moms have been packing. The youth is wrinkle free, always has enough socks and underwear to wait out the Great Tribulation and a ziplock for their toothbrush. You can also spot those who have packed for themselves. A teenage boys may have a large bag of skittles, an extra shirt and their MP3 player. This youth is going to spend the ride home deflecting comments about having to go "commando" for the weekend.
Teenage girls, on the other hand, tend to pack as though we are going to a remote artic substation for several months. Four pairs of shoes, seventeen outfits and a make up bag that has comes on wheels. No, just kidding.... only 15 outfits.
You can tell alot about someone by the way they pack. Are they carefree? I once had a roommate that would slip a toothbrush in her purse and leave for a weeks' vacation. Are they a mom? They pack for every contingency including famine, plague and an outbreak of malaria? God bless them. They will have extra tissues, mints and a cache of extra socks.
I am a list maker and I have packing list. This list contains a good cross-section of possible scenarios. I have frozen in the middle of July from overzealous air conditioning. Unexpected torrential rainfall has made a weekend of outdoor concerts sauna-like. When I go on the retreat, the make-up bag does not get packed. Foundation, power and mascara are useless to hide the fact that I got two hours of sleep. As a matter of fact, applying mascara while sleep deprivated can be downright dangerous.
When we all gather in the church parking lot with our baggage piled up, a new challenge faces us. How do we get all this stuff into our vehicles?!? Remember that the drivers must have a clear view out their rear windows. The sleeping bags and air mattresses can pose a paticular problem. Sometimes we must load some of the kids first and "pack" around them. And somehow it always fits. However... at the end of the weekend, when you go to repack for the jounrey home, all of the stuff has expanded. It won't fit back into it's original containment device - ie. suitcase, sleeping bag cover, etc.
When I arrive back home, I like to unpack right away and get the washer started. After packing, lugging my bag around all weekend, repacking it and finally unpacking it, I always resolve to pack lighter for the next trip. It's never happened. When Jesus comes back in the clouds to call His believers home and we are taken in the blink of an eye, I will not have to pack. Everything I need will be in heaven with Him. A size four robe will fit perfectly and my only agenda item will be worship.
Until then, I'd better throw in the bug spray, sunscreen and another couple pairs of socks.