Aug
2
2012
The Playpen
Posted in Family Life 2 Comments
Almost twenty years ago, we took a vacation to Florida.
We have been to Florida since then…but this trip was different.
On this trip…we drove!
Imagine…
We only had four children at the time, under the age of nine.
Our youngest was about 18 months.
There we were…in the mini van…packed with snacks and luggage…one duffel bag each.
Of course, the children could have their own backpack next to them in the van.
That is where they kept special things they wanted to play with…or read…or color.
There was also the favorite stuffed animal, for those who couldn’t leave home without it.
This was before the days of portable cribs.
You either had to have a full size crib…or you brought a playpen.
Obviously, traveling down I-95 from Pennsylvania to Florida, a playpen was the choice.
We had rented a property for the week, but there was no crib for our youngest son.
He was too little to be in a bed with his three year old brother.
So..the playpen got strapped to the roof of the mini van.
We were an interesting sight going down I-95.
Four children, two parents, only a small opening to see through the back window.
After everything was loaded, we still needed to put two strollers in there somehow.
One for the baby…and another for the three year old who was not going to be able to do all the walking we were expecting to do.
We split the trip up into two days of driving…which my husband and I shared.
Finally, on day two of the trip, we arrived.
I saw my first palm tree.
Everything was much flatter than the rolling hills of Pennsylvania.
As we literally passed the Welcome to Florida sign, a torrential downpour began.
I remember that we had to stop under an overpass because there was no visibility.
Of course, to the three older ones, this was an adventure!
As quickly, as the rain began, it stopped.
It was beautiful and sunny for the rest of our trip.
The children loved Disney World and all the Florida things young families do.
What they loved the most, however, was the screened in pool in the back yard.
When the week was over, we packed up to head home.
The playpen was strapped to the roof rack on top of the van.
Everyone was quiet as we began our drive home; some were asleep.
My husband was driving.
He saw something yellow in his side mirror.
Quick as a flash…it was there…and then gone.
We had just crested a little hill and something told him to pull over.
He pulled over to the shoulder and got out.
He opened the door and said, “It was the playpen…it flew off the car!”
The other cars were whizzing by on I-95.
You know the feeling…you are stopped…but their speed makes your car shake!
Please leave it…it doesn’t matter.
I can’t…I don’t want anyone to hit it and blow out a tire…or swerve to miss it in the road.
There was no winning this discussion.
He was off…directing me to stay in the car and lock the doors.
Talk about praying!
There was nothing but a small opening to see out of the back window.
The children were asleep but starting to stir.
Why are we stopped? would soon be the next question.
The only place I could see clearly was my side mirror.
I watched my husband disappear…back over the crest of the little hill.
This was a multi-lane highway.
He was walking in the opposite direction of the traffic.
Minutes seemed like hours.
Children were waking up hungry, but the snacks were in the back…and I was told to stay in the car with the doors locked.
So we sang…and recited poems.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a yellow speck.
There was my husband, coming over the hill, carrying the playpen above his head.
I never understood why he carried it that way…unless it made him more visible.
He strapped the playpen to the top of the mini van…and we drove off…towards home.
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He tends the flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart; He gently leads those who have young. (Isaiah 40:11)
How many of us has the Lord Jesus carried?
How many of us has He gone after…leaving the ninety-nine for the one?
Jesus went over a hill…carrying the crossbeam of a cross.
He was just a speck in the eye of those who would mock…and spit…and beat Him.
But to those of us who believe, He is a sight for sore eyes!
He is our redemption.
He is our way home.
Thank you, precious Lord Jesus, for going after us.
You carry us so close to You…we can feel Your heartbeat.
We would still be laying there…on the road…had You not saved us.
Because of You, we have a way Home.
Oh…how we love You!
A good story, but not as dramatic as the time we lost the entire X-Cargo from our van’s roof top on I-95 also traveling south towards Florida! We backed up the car, hoisted the carrier on the roof again, made sure we completely closed the fasteners this time, and continued on our way! Everything we packed in that X-Cargo was “necessary” for our trip, and we couldn’t think of going on without it. Yet how many people venture forth and haven’t secured the one and only thing necessary for eternity…their salvation. But our God keeps working at getting us all “on board” with His almighty plan!
Linda,
Your story is definitely more dramatic!
How right you are to see both of our stories as related to our salvation.
We are all “lying on the road”…until He picks us up and carries us.
What an awesome Lord we serve!
Gina