The Olympic Peninsula: Snow-capped mountains, evergreen rainforests, rocky coastal beaches, waves crashing against cliffs, bald eagles soaring overhead, and Twilight-themed motels and restaurants. I had wanted for so long to get out there and see it for myself (the nature stuff, not the Twilight-vampire nonsense). Since high school, I had been telling myself I would get out there someday. Every time it came up in conversation, I would say, “I’ll go as soon as I can!” I spent nearly a decade thinking about it, but I never actually went.
It wasn’t until this last Christmas break that I finally acted on my long-awaited plan to go out there, and I am so glad that I did. While I was there, I had plenty of time to explore God’s beautiful creation, read, reflect on life, and spend agendaless and unhurried time with the Lord.
I loved every moment of this trip, and I found myself wishing I had done it much sooner. If I had, I could have spent dozens more nights sleeping beneath the Olympic Canopy and countless more hours on the trails and beaches throughout the national park over the years. After all, I grew up in Western Washington, and the only thing that stood between me and this trip was a couple hours of driving and a scenic ferry ride.
Years of telling myself, “Maybe.” Years of thinking, “One day.” In the end, all it took was finally asking, “If not now, when?” That question has stuck with me. It made me start wondering what else in my life I might be putting off. What other good things might I be delaying? Are there things that God has placed in front of me that I’ve been responding to with, “Maybe later,” instead of taking an obedient step forward?
This trip helped me realize just how often I do this in my walk with the Lord. I feel a nudge, a calling, or a conviction about something that I ought to do, and my response is not “No,” but it is, “Not right now.” I assume I’ll have more time. I assume that the opportunity will still be in front of me later. I assume that one day I will feel more ready, more confident, more prepared, more sure of the path before me. But many of the moments that shape our lives and our faith don’t begin when we feel ready; they begin when we choose to trust God and take a step forward, whether or not the trail seems clear.
This camping trip showed me that sometimes the only thing standing between me and something good, something beautiful, or something God wants to teach me is my own hesitation. Nothing was really stopping me from going out to the Peninsula all those years except for the fact that I kept getting in my own way by saying, “Maybe later.”
Now, I’m beginning to wonder how many other things I’ve responded to with “Not right now.” How many conversations I’ve delayed. How many opportunities I’ve lost due to overthinking and indecision. How many times God has put something in front of me, and I’ve responded with, “Not right now.” Maybe what God was teaching me out there had less to do with camping and more to do with trust and obedience.
In fact, maybe faith is much simpler than I make it out to be at times. Maybe it’s less about having everything figured out and more about submitting to God and being willing to take the next step that He’s placed in front of me.
I still don’t have everything figured out, of course. My time out on the coast did not heal me of my hesitation and overthinking. I still like feeling prepared and trying to know how things will turn out. But now I’m learning that walking with God often looks less like following a detailed map and more like trusting Him one step at a time, even when I can’t see the whole trail ahead.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV)
I’m really grateful I finally took that trip. Not just because of the amazing, beautiful things I saw out there, but because of what God showed me that my eyes could not see on their own. And now, I have a feeling this won’t be the last time I find myself asking, “If not now, when?”
Gabe White
Gabe is a part of our Christ’s Church family since moving to Joplin in 2023. He serves with guest services as a greeter and runs the welcome center in our 9:15N gathering. He has also spent this semester interning under Peter Buckland. Gabe is in his final year at Ozark Christian College studying Organizational Leadership.
