The end of the line has come for my pop-up camper. It was long past due that another family loves her. And so, I put her up for sale one day. I had mixed emotions about this. After all, my daughter and I shared many wonderful memories in this camper and spent a lot of time taking in God’s beauty.
Yes, there were the frustrations of raising the camper top each time and having to fix the cable system, but those frustrations lasted briefly, and we were able to enjoy ourselves.
Believe it or not, but it only took about a week or so, and a buyer just as excited as I had been came to the house and bought my camper for the unremarkable sales price of $250.00. After all, she had depreciated over the last few years. And yes, she did have a frustrating cable system.
Here’s the funny part, though. The man who bought her never camped a day in his life! While I was explaining all the fine qualities of the camper to him, he disclosed he had never used a camper before or even been camping.
“WHAT? You have never camped, and you want to buy this camper? Oh, I don’t know about this man. This isn’t a good camper for you and your family to start with.”
I was thinking to myself, maybe it was a good camper to start with. He would get very familiar with her intricate workings and from there could operate any camper he owned afterward.
After requiring the man to sign on the dotted line, “AS IS – WHERE IS,” he gave me $250 in cash and drove off into the horizon, never to be seen again. My first love, my very first camper, was gone forever. She served her purpose well. But wait, maybe I can recycle some good parts from her – I know, MOVE ON JEANETTE!! It’s probably in a trash heap today, discarded like old news.
Do you want to hear some good news? God doesn’t discard us or sell us when he’s done with us. He doesn’t get rid of us when we have frustrated him beyond belief or repair. He lovingly keeps us and longs to have us draw closer to Him. He’s in the repair business. He’s in the restoration business. He’s in this for the long haul. The question is – Are you? Are you in it for the long haul? When you break down when you fail, do you turn to God or turn away in shame and run the other way?
When we mess up, we must turn to God. Matthew 3:2 says this, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of heaven is near.”
When we mess up, don’t turn away from God; turn to Him and let Him restore you, allow Him to love you, and repent of your sin. God loves you that much. He won’t put a for sale sign on you and watch you drive off into the sunset. Time is flying by, don’t delay.
Father, thank you for loving us so much that you wouldn’t turn your back on us when we have messed or failed to operate properly. Like the cable system in my pop-up camper that broke every time, we break often, and you are there to repair us, stand us back up on our feet, and keep encouraging us to move forward. You are a loving Father to my friends and me. Father, I love you and can’t imagine my life without you. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.
In His Service
Jeanette
Jeanette
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