Leaving Iowa, a comedy about Family Vacations, has caused me to think back on my family road trips. I remember my dad took travel days very seriously.

We got up early and got on the road and he would drive ALL day and into the night. I think sometimes there was a particular campground he had to get to regardless of how long it took. Other times, I think he waited until it started to get dark before he even began to look for one.

So we would set up our tent with flashlights for light. Couldn’t use the headlights, too bright for the smart campers who had already gone to sleep! I remember it was always interesting to wake up and see what the surroundings looked like!

But we didn’t linger. Had to pack up and head out again. We rarely went camping for the fun of camping. We just couldn’t afford hotels.

There were some exciting/scary times in that old green, canvas tent. Like the time we camped on a bluff above a lake. Amazingly, we had gotten there early enough to see the lake and even swim in it.

A huge storm came up in the night. Wind, rain, and lighting like I had never seen. My mom was always fond of quoting what my sister said that night: “Look Mom, the lighting is playing tic-tac-toe in the sky!”

We ran around gathering swimsuits and towels off the clothesline and we all got in the car. I think we were afraid the tent would blow away with us in it and we would roll into the lake. Somehow I managed to sleep a little and was very surprised to see that the tent was still there in the morning.

Life’s like that. Most of us take traveling through it very seriously. We don’t stop often enough or linger long enough to enjoy the journey.

We drive ourselves right into darkness. Storms and other scary events come at us without warning. Fortunately, we have a Heavenly Father who will see us through and his mercies are new every morning.

Oh, and by the way, He has prepared an awesome, eternal campground for us; we just aren’t there, yet.