The Best Mattress
I love to sleep. And as a lover of (long) naps and getting some sleep in during the day, I’ve realized that the material I’m sleeping on matters a lot to me. I used to go to summer camp at Nosoca Pines Ranch in South Carolina as a kid and they had these cabins full of bunk beds. I remember sleeping really well on those bunk beds and looking back on it, that was probably because I was so tired from the day, rather than anything comfort related. But that fueled my desire as a kid to get a bunk bed, so you can imagine my excitement when we were able to get a bunk bed from somebody! Great fun, looks great, and most of all good sleep. What could be better?
After a few years however, I realized that I wanted a bigger bed than what a bunk bed could provide and we happened to get a queen size mattress from someone. Sizewise, that’s a big upgrade from a bunk bed and I loved that I could roll around and not be in danger of rolling off the bed. On top of it being a queen size mattress, this was actually a pillowtop mattress, which if you’re not sure what that is, is exactly what it sounds like: sleeping on top of a bunch of pillows. What could be better than being able to sink into utter comfort? … For my back, anything.
As I got a little older, I realized that sinking into the mattress was nice in theory but my back would begin to hurt in the mornings and I started to sleep on the floor just for some back support. My parents saw this and decided to switch out their mattress for mine, which was a very very firm mattress, and I was actually really happy with this mattress as well. The back support was amazing while still being queen size, what could be better? As you can probably tell, there was something better.
I began to see all these ads on youtube about a specific mattress, called the Purple mattress. The ads were everywhere and there were celebrities endorsing the mattress, and they had all these great experiments using the mattress and showing its soft, yet supportive structure! Just what I needed! Unfortunately, a Purple mattress was way out of my budget, so it was just a dream and I continued to just watch the well made advertisements and talk about them with everyone I knew.
That actually rubbed off on my parents because they were in the market for a new bed, and they got a great deal on a used Purple mattress! I was so excited when I heard about this and laid down on it as soon as I got the chance! The bliss, the support, the grid structure! What could be better? … As of the time of this writing, nothing yet, but I’m sure that I’ll find an even better mattress in the future. How does this tie into anything relevant towards anything besides my sleep life?
When I look at the pattern of wanting the “best” mattress, getting the “best” mattress, and then realizing that there is something better and therefore starting the cycle again, it reminds me a lot of my own spiritual life. I attended the summer camps, and the KAYAMMs, and the ECKCMs and each time I go, I receive this amazing blessing, this amazing “mattress”, and for a short while I have this amazing time with this blessing. But then after a while, I realize that what I had thought was so great, is no longer that great anymore. I would come home on such a spiritual high, ready to do my devotions and pray and read the Bible, and after about a few days, I don’t seem to have that energy anymore, and my excitement over a new “mattress” seems to have gone away. And so for the longest time my question was, how do I keep the excitement, the spiritual high, not just for a few days but for the rest of my life? I used to think that the answer was to get the best blessing, the best “mattress”, hear the best messages and have the best experience. But even as I experienced those things, the fire for God would ultimately fizzle out.
All answers are in the Bible, and so I took a look at Matthew 7:7-8, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened”. I know that I have no problem with this verse, because I’m great at asking God for things, and I’m sure many of us are proficient at asking as well. When I go to campmeeting asking God on the opening night for a blessing, I always receive a great spiritual meal and experience. I seem to be doing what the verse is telling me to do, but still my devotion for God experiences huge spikes and long periods of non existence.
Ultimately, I thought about my favorite Bible character, Enoch. There’s not a lot about this man in the Bible but what we do know is mostly in Genesis 5:21-24: “Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him”. Enoch was someone that had such a great relationship with God that He decided that there was nothing more that Enoch needed to learn or do on Earth and took him up to heaven. What’s just as amazing is the length of time that Enoch walked with God: 300 years. I have trouble walking with God for 3 days after a great blessing, and Enoch is able to walk with him for 3 of my lifetimes.
I believe that the difference between me and Enoch can be inferred when we look at just how long Enoch was able to maintain his walk with God. 300 years of fire for God is way too long for it to be the result of one amazing spiritual high, so Enoch must have had many, continual, spiritual blessings and moments where he felt the presence of God in his life. The only way that could have happened is if Enoch asked and received, and then asked again and received again. If Enoch knocked and the door was opened, and he knocked again and the door was opened again. The difference between me and Enoch is that he continuously asked and knocked and sought after God while I try to reach heaven by just asking and receiving once.
I try to find the best mattress so that I can sleep on it forever, but as my body changes and technology changes, that’s not going to be possible. In the same way when we ask God for His blessing, He gives us a blessing fit for us, our experience and our circumstance. Our lives are constantly changing, so how can there be a single blessing, a single experience that will ensure that our lives are always on fire for God? My prayer going forward is to be like Enoch, even if I don’t get to 300 years, to be constantly seeking and finding God in my life.
Ahram Cho is a Programmer/Developer and currently attends the Arizona Korean SDA Church. Originally born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina, his love for the East Coast will always stay strong.