As I was thinking about this camper, I was reminded of all the wonderful memories my daughter and I shared in this camper. I must admit, not every memory is one for a Hallmark card. There have been a few that were made more for horror stories and adventure television shows.
The one thing that always rang true about that pop-up camper was the cable system. It simply refused to cooperate. I felt like Paul with the bothersome thorn in my side. Every time I cranked the handle to lift the top, we would get about three-quarters of the way, and SNAP, BANG – the cable would break or pull away from a corner. When this happened, she refused to go any further, neither up nor down. She was like a stubborn, old mule who refused to move.
I guess by now, some questions come to your mind. When I think of them myself, I, too, have to ask what I was thinking back. Shall I ask them for you? Ok, sure.
1. Why did you keep the camper knowing this happens?
2. How did you get it in its final up position each time?
3. How did you get it lowered back down?
4. Didn’t you get frustrated?
5. Didn’t people laugh at you?
6. How embarrassing was that?
7. How many years did you keep this piece of junk?
8. Where is the camper today?
Those are all valid questions, and I don’t really have answers that make much sense. Truth be told, I think anyone else would have taken the first guy’s advice and dumped it in the trash heap. But I didn’t. There was something about owning my own camper as a single mom that drew me into this hunk of junk.
Maybe I felt sorry for it; I don’t know. Maybe I knew in my heart, I would never own a full-size motor home.
All I know is by the fifth round with the cable; I was the new expert in rerouting the cable line and reattaching the anchors. No one else could climb deep inside this popup to the pits of darkness and snap it all back together like me. After all, it wasn’t camping if Jeanette’s pop-up camper cable system didn’t snap. It had become part of the adventure.
It’s funny when I think about this because it reminds me of what God does for us. We snap, we break, we refuse to move, and yet there he is, patiently putting us back together. He waits patiently as we have our little tantrums, waits patiently as we take a long way around, and waits patiently for us to come back to him.
Isn’t it great to have a God like him? And to think, he didn’t cost me $400. He paid the price for me, not the other way around.
John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only son, that whoever should believe in him, shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
Thank you, God, for never giving up on me. Because of you, I can write about these things today and share wonderful memories with family and friends. In your sons’ name, I pray, Amen.
In His Service
Jeanette
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