Welcome to Hell

Hands down, my greatest summer adventure this year was going to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to be an extra in the filming of Pitch Perfect 2. Now some of you may not know, I kinda sorta like the first Pitch Perfect. I've seen the movie over 100 times and probably could quote the whole movie, with songs and choreography, at the drop of a beat. So when the opportunity came up for me to be in the movie, I sent the email to mom (yes, I am almost 21 and still ask my mother permission to do things) and waited on baited breath for her answer. Her reply: You can go as long as someone goes with you.

I got to work. Texting people, calling people, gathering information on hotels and what to wear. Once a travel companion was secured, the waiting game really began. I wouldn't find out where the filming was until the day of the shoot. After a few glitches, at eight o'clock Friday morning one of my sorority sisters, her boyfriend and I were on our way down South.
 

 
(Insert sound of VHS fast-forwarding)

Upon arriving at the designated parking area, the three of us found ourselves in a tent with about 200 other people. It was hot. And I don't mean hot like a summer hot with a breeze and birds flying everywhere. I mean hot as in your sweat evaporated before it was even out of your sebaceous glands.
 

 
(Insert sound of VHS fast-forwarding)
 
We finally got in line to load the bus. Wanting to make new friends, my sister and I started talking to these two girls. We asked where they were from. Here's how the conversation went:
 
Me: Where are y'all from?
Girl 1: Central.
Me and my sister: Where is that?
Girl 2: About fifteen minutes that way (points in the direction of 'up the road')
Girl 1: Where are you from?
Me: Uh, Tennessee.
Girl 1: Welcome to hell.
Girl 2: How long of a drive is that? We thought everyone was from around here.
My sister: It's about a six hour drive.
 
Now, you may have noticed Girl 1's reaction to when my sister and I said we were from Tennessee. I'm telling you, it was H-O-T and I'm not surprised by her statement.
 

 
(Insert sound of VHS fast-forwarding)
 
Twelve hours have passed and my sister and I finally return to the parking lot area. We're hot, sweaty and really need water. My sister's friends and boyfriend picked us up and we headed for the hotel where I was staying. My phone was dead so I couldn't call my mom and tell her that I was okay and that the filming was aca-amazing. And my phone charger was in my sister's boyfriend's car...at the friend's apartment...30 minutes from the hotel.
 

 
I was exhausted. The only level of exhaustion I can compare to was after a day at band camp in 100 degree weather. My only way of communicating was via Facebook and email. I sent an email to superhero mom and went to bed. When I woke the next morning I was lost without my phone. I couldn't send the daily Bible verse and I couldn't call my mom or text my friends about one of the best once-in-a-lifetime moments I had.
 
Then a twist in the story. My sister and her boyfriend decided to stay an extra night. I didn't want to stay an extra night. I couldn't call my mom and tell her. I had to rely on email. I felt so lost because answers weren't happening at the speed I wanted them to happen.

So I did what any 20-year-old would do, I cried. Now, let me take a moment and share that I hate crying. When people cry I get all awkward and it's just weird. I don't cry. There must have been something in the heat or the water at the filming. But nonetheless, it happened. And though I've never been there, I felt like I indeed, was in hell because the weight of the stress might as well have taken me down.
 

 

Have you ever been in this situation? You don't know what to do? You want answers but you just aren't getting any in the timeframe you want? At this moment, instead of wishing I had a cell phone charger, I should have simply opened the nightstand and taken out the hardback Bible "Placed by the Gideons".

 

I should have located Matthew 11:28

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest."

 

Or sought out James 1:2-3

"Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance."

 

There probably won't be another Adventure in Baton Rouge starring a dead phone battery and desperate college student, but it is almost certain that even as close as the next hour, a stressful situation will arise.

 

So instead of turning to your phone, or Facebook, or food (guilty), look instead at God and read His instructions for handling stressful situations.