Luke 8:1
And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him.

Let it be known to the world that I do not like to bed hop. One of the reasons I love camping so much is because I get to sleep in my own bed at night, covered with my own sheet and blanket, snuggled up to my own flat as a fritter pillow. The seventeen days that we were on the road back and forth from the west coast I slept in seventeen different beds, covered with what looked like clean sheets, but the blankets were questionable. I sure did miss my old camper on wheels. Of course we were able to make better time in the van, but when it was time to lay my head down, I was singing the, “I want my own bed blues.”

I realize I have been blessed beyond measure to have been able to visit 48 of the 50 states of this great country of ours, the United States of America, but traveling isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, especially when you are a germ-a-phobic like me. I hate, hate, hate to sleep in a bed that God only knows who or what lay in before me. But, I must admit I’m feeling a bit guilty. I am so spoiled. Just think about all those who have no bed to sleep in. What they would give to have a dirty blanket to pull up under their chin on a cold blustery night. People sleep in all kinds of places. A mansion with a king size bed covered in silk sheets, a ghetto in a cardboard box with newspaper for cover? Under an over pass or bridge, in an abandoned building? In the woods under the stars, or on a park bench with a pigeon as their only friend?

Yes, I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful resting place at night. What about Jesus? Where did he lay his head every night of those three and a half years he was on the road spreading the gospel? Those three and a half years totaled over twelve hundred nights that Jesus probably slept in a different place. Most likely not in a bed, but on the cold, hard ground. Luke 21:37 tells us that after teaching in the temple Jesus went out, and abode on the mount that is called the Mount of Olives. Certainly Jesus didn’t have a bed, not even a padded sleeping bag, just the earth and stones beneath Him, and a worn cloak to cover himself.

Luke 6:12 tell us, “ And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.” In Matthew 26:36-46 it is also written that Jesus stayed up all night in the Garden of Gethsemane praying. And what about the 40 days and nights in the Wilderness as told in Luke 4:1-2, do you think Jesus shut His eyes for one minute with that old devil continuously throwing temptation His way? Yes, I am certainly feeling guilty for complaining about where I lay my head. Don’t you know Jesus was very happy when he was close enough to Mary, Martha and Lazarus’s house to spend the night with them? Such simple pleasures we sometimes take for granted.

While away on our trip we stayed in several Comfort Inns, a few small mom and pop motels which were very nice, a Hampton Inn, Days Inn, Quality Inn, Embassy Suites and my favorite, Sugar Pine Ranch in Groveland, California which is about thirty minutes from Yosemite National Park. Knowing that inside the park rooms would cost us anywhere from $200 - $400 dollars a night we were more than happy to pay the $120 a night at Sugar Pine Ranch. And, they even opened the place up for us. The owners were on vacation and had closed down for the week, but it just so happened their daughter was there and let us stay.

At Sugar Pine Ranch we found a quaint little cottage where the deer played in the grove of trees behind our room. We seemed millions of miles away from the hustle and bustle we’d been in for days. My husband, Jerry and I dug out our little camping cook stove, peeled some potato’s we brought from home, chopped up a big ole onion head and fried us up some taters and onions for supper. Best food I ate while on our trip. The cottage didn’t have a television and we didn’t even miss it.

I am a firm believer that God knows exactly what we need when we need it. That small cottage gave a homesick girl a much-needed taste of back home. Seeing the world is an awesome thing, but I think this country girl is staying put for a while. Those other two states will just have to wait.