I never shared this with you before, but the other disparaging thing about my pop-up camper was leaking. She leaked badly in the one corner of the canvas. Twenty-year-old canvas on a pop-up camper doesn’t hold up very good especially when there are rips and tears. They can say what they want about duct tape, but it doesn’t keep all the water out. I tried canvas spray, duct tape and even tried my hand at sewing some new pieces of canvas in those damaged areas, all to no avail. She needed a new canvas, and my wallet needed a big bump if I could invest that kind of money. It didn’t make sense to spend hundreds of dollars on a new canvas when I only paid four hundred for the whole thing camper. Besides, I had already put a few hundred in making it livable for my daughter and me.
I decided I could put up with the occasional leak.
After all, it only leaked if it rained. It only leaked if it rained AND we happened to be camping. So, what’s the big deal, right? When we were camping, and it did rain, it was a big deal, and our bedding and anything in that corner got wet. After a few rounds with this, I came up with a brilliant idea.
Tarps! I would buy a large tarp and put it over the camper to protect it from the rain. I had to find one that matched our canvas, and I did. I found a huge, brown tarp, bought some rope and wood stakes, and we were back in business. We were no longer captives of the weather. Whenever we went camping, I set up the pop-up camper and strung my gigantic tarp from one side to the other over the top of my camper as a shield. This was the perfect solution to my dilemma. And the bonus? The huge tarp kept the sun at bay, so the inside was cooler, and we had more shade.
People said I went from looking like a poor, single mother with no money to get a real camper to looking like a true redneck campsite. Guess what? I didn’t care. It was a brilliant idea, and it kept us dry. The wind could blow, the skies could open with fury and dump rain, but we were safe AND dry inside our pop-up camper.
It’s like that when Jesus comes into our hearts.
Up until we come under the canopy of God, we’re exposed to all kinds of things that infiltrate our lives and bring harm, bring problems. And we have nothing to help protect us. But when we ask Jesus into our hearts, we have a new canvas over us, so to speak, we have a new covering, we have a new life about us. Suddenly, we have confidence we didn’t have before. People can stop and stare, call us all kinds of names, but we don’t care because we have Jesus Christ in our hearts, and that’s what matters. The wind can blow, the skies can dump its rain and fury on us, the world can fall apart, but as long as I have Jesus in my corner, as my protector and my Savior, all that doesn’t matter. God sent us a new canvas to live in our hearts.
The question for you today – Do you have that canvas? Do you know that canvas, Jesus, and are you residing in Him today?
Father, thank you for all that you do for us. Lord, thanks for being my protector, my defender, my foundation, and my friend. In your Sons’ name, I pray, amen.
In His Service
Jeanette
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