Do you know how many times my husband has asked me this question while on a road trip…” Is this our exit?” I am talking about before GPS and during GPS. During those years when all we had was a physical map that was unfolded and larger than life…and I could never fold it back the right way. During those years when we had a screen on the windshield that needed plugged into the lighter outlet and we had to make sure it was updated from the computer. And even now, it recently was asked back in August this year…” Is this our exit?” … even with the GPS on our cell phones.
I don’t get to drive. My husband does all the driving…his choice, not mine. I can only recall two times, two, he says that there “has to be more” … in our 27 years of marriage that he has allowed me to drive…it was on our way to Florida for our honeymoon and on our way back from South Dakota.
The problem is this…I don’t do maps well and he won’t let me drive…which means he can’t look at a map and drive at the same time. Before GPS, he would study the map at rest stops or gas stations, memorize it and then drive off. I would try to understand the map, read the map and try to help him during the six-lane expressway traffic…but I would fail. Most of the time. Yet he would still ask… “Is this our exit?”
We often joke, or at least I joke, that we should interview for the game Amazing Race because then I would have to drive and he would do the navigating. Otherwise, I don’t drive. I would love to but I don’t get to.
Times I would love to drive are these: during traffic caused by construction, an accident or just plain Chicago traffic. The problem is starting and stopping. Start and stop. Swerving to other lanes without warning. I get motion sickness easily. I will have the cold air vent blowing on me, my head up, looking forward (kids in the back have to fend for themselves) and I still get motion sickness. I usually bring a blanket to use as a pillow or my pillow itself to take a nap. Sleeping makes the trips go by faster.
No reading books on car trips. No games on the iPad. I can listen to movies the kids are watching or listen to music playing. I try to play games with the kids like, ABC (not sure of the correct name). Anyway, we go through the alphabet using billboards, road signs and decals on semis…although it is awkward when your child starts learning to read and is now reading ALL of the billboards for exits to come…yikes! We would also play “I’m thinking of an animal…” We would take turns thinking of an animal, give three clues as to the animal, then the family would have to guess it. Or “My uncle owns a grocery store and in it he has something that starts with the letter…” another guessing game. I am sure there are a ton more games, but those are the ones we would play before the kids would ask to be on a screen. This usually means a Tim Hawkins video or Star Wars or some animation they haven’t watched in a while…unless our daughter sneaks in a girls movie in which case all four brothers yell, “NO!” Or how about that kid who rolls down their window in the middle of a national park and “calls” for the animals…entertainment and memories.
Other entertainment…puppets. Yes, puppeteer. From the driver of a SEMI! Had this recently. As we are driving in a multiple lane expressway, major traffic, the driver of a semi rolls down the window and starts using a puppet out their window…no joke! And not just one puppet…multiple. All animals. Cray-cray. Another one is this…but sad…we witnessed physical abuse while driving through Chicago. The driver was driving and physically abusing the lady in the passenger seat. Super scary. I prayed for that lady a long while after witnessing that. Other entertainment could be weather, rain, snow or ice. We experienced a prairie rainstorm for the first time. Out of nowhere the storm was there. People pulled off under the overpasses and both sides of the road waiting for the storm to pass…well most people…not my hubby…he considered it a challenge to tackle. There were a ton of motorcyclists caught in this storm. They were headed to Sturgis.
Traveling with kids is much different than traveling with just the two of us adults. First and foremost, there is NO DIPPING! Eavesdropping. Butting into conversations that are not theirs! Even with movies playing, their little ears can perk right up and catch information that wasn’t theirs to know. There is always the question, “Are we there yet?” Or how about snacking? You can hide the PB cup, but you can’t hide the smell…kid from the back, “Can I have a bite?”
Or the fighting…it is quite possible to fight while buckled AND in different rows. Or how about the kid who vomits due to the sugary doughnut Dad bought at Wesco to start the trip. Or how about traveling with a three-year-old who not only has ADHD but also has trauma from a car seat earlier in life…for 18 hours…that alone will develop something in you.
But then you travel FOR the kids and not just family vacations. Green Bay, WI for a puppy. Nashville, TN for cross country. Springfield, MO for basketball.
Of course there are snacks on our road trips. A bag full of snacks WITH paper towel…don’t forget the paper towel because you will need it for something. Snacks like licorice (red for most and black for a few of us) and Pringles. Chex mix, cookies and of course gum. Chocolate, yes, just make sure it’s not on the floor or in the window or stuck between something or someone because…it will melt. Drinks with lids are essential when traveling with kids…no open containers!
My husband and I will ask ourselves, “Is this our exit?” when contemplating life. Life is a road trip in and of itself. Is this when we hop off? Is there another road we are to travel on in order to get to our destination? We know this road ends before we are supposed to pick up another one, but when do we get off? This is when our “map” becomes the Lord. This is when we seek His will for our lives and learn from HIM what road to take in order to get to the destination He has for us.
Will I read the “map” wrong sometimes…yes. Will I get “sick” along the way from the abrupt starting and stopping…yes. Will there be entertainment…oh, yes. Will there be some complaining…yes.
HOWEVER, I want to travel the road He has for me because the destination is unfathomable, unimaginable and so unbelievable.
I am ONE story,
~ Kristy
Revelation chapters 21 and 22 NLT (New Living Translation)
21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” 6 And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. 7 All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.
8 “But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
9 Then one of the seven angels who held the seven bowls containing the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come with me! I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
10 So he took me in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and he showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. 11 It shone with the glory of God and sparkled like a precious stone—like jasper as clear as crystal. 12 The city wall was broad and high, with twelve gates guarded by twelve angels. And the names of the twelve tribes of Israel were written on the gates. 13 There were three gates on each side—east, north, south, and west. 14 The wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were written the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 The angel who talked to me held in his hand a gold measuring stick to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. 16 When he measured it, he found it was a square, as wide as it was long. In fact, its length and width and height were each 1,400 miles. 17 Then he measured the walls and found them to be 216 feet thick (according to the human standard used by the angel).
18 The wall was made of jasper, and the city was pure gold, as clear as glass. 19 The wall of the city was built on foundation stones inlaid with twelve precious stones: the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst.
21 The twelve gates were made of pearls—each gate from a single pearl! And the main street was pure gold, as clear as glass.
22 I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light. 24 The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory. 25 Its gates will never be closed at the end of day because there is no night there. 26 And all the nations will bring their glory and honor into the city. 27 Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty—but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
22 Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 It flowed down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations.
3 No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. 4 And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. 5 And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever.
6 Then the angel said to me, “Everything you have heard and seen is trustworthy and true. The Lord God, who inspires his prophets, has sent his angel to tell his servants what will happen soon.”
7 “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed are those who obey the words of prophecy written in this book.”
8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw all these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me. 9 But he said, “No, don’t worship me. I am a servant of God, just like you and your brothers the prophets, as well as all who obey what is written in this book. Worship only God!”
10 Then he instructed me, “Do not seal up the prophetic words in this book, for the time is near. 11 Let the one who is doing harm continue to do harm; let the one who is vile continue to be vile; let the one who is righteous continue to live righteously; let the one who is holy continue to be holy.”
12 “Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
14 Blessed are those who wash their robes. They will be permitted to enter through the gates of the city and eat the fruit from the tree of life. 15 Outside the city are the dogs—the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idol worshipers, and all who love to live a lie.
16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this message for the churches. I am both the source of David and the heir to his throne. I am the bright morning star.”
17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Let anyone who hears this say, “Come.” Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life. 18 And I solemnly declare to everyone who hears the words of prophecy written in this book: If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book. 19 And if anyone removes any of the words from this book of prophecy, God will remove that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book.
20 He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!”
Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!
21 May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s holy people.