April 23, 2020
When my husband and I got married, my parents’ wedding gift to us was a tent for camping (because that’s what we asked for). This was no “pup tent”. In fact, our friends that we camped with nicknamed it, “The Big Top”. It was an eight man tent with a screened in porch to sleep two more. Perfect for the family we have right now but WAY big for two newlyweds. Let me just say that a person can learn a lot from putting up a tent, but this canvas giant offered more than its share of life lessons. I believe this may just be Day 1 of my stories about The Big Top (TBT). By far, the most difficult time putting up any tent is the first time. It’s all unfamiliar territory and everything is still wrapped in plastic (but at least you know all the poles are there). Our first experience with constructing TBT was in the dark on the bank of the Guadalupe River and we’d been married about a month. All our friends had arrived earlier (in the daylight) and were comfortable by the campfire or asleep by the time we arrived. And so it began... First of all the thing weighed about 150 pounds. A couple of the guys offered to help but we said “Oh, no, that’s ok! We’ve got this!” I suppose we wanted to appear competent and mature as a married couple. BIG mistake. To this day I have never seen so many tent poles in one place. That is to say, what I could see at all. Did I mention there was no electricity at this campsite? Have you ever pitched a tent in the pitch dark by the light of a Coleman lantern? Finding a spot big enough to lay the massive foundation was the first challenge. Then began the hammering of the metal stakes that mostly bent in half because the ground was so hard. Some time later the real fun began. Can someone please tell me why all tent poles look alike but don’t all fit together? I’m sure that bets were being placed as to whether we would make it to our two month anniversary. HOURS later the tent was up and we fell inside and went to sleep. I was awakened at daylight by two disturbing sounds. The first to get my attention was a lot of peeping and quacking. Turns out we had moved in right next door to (inches from) a duck nest. Those new babies were hungry and that mama duck was not too happy with us. She must have been “out on the town for her last hoorah” the night before because she definitely had not said a word. But perhaps more disturbing was the background noise that more slowly invaded my consciousness. Was that the sound of rushing water? Better check it out. As quickly as I could I unzipped the four door zippers to exit TBT. Oh, my! Somehow in the struggle the night before we had managed to stake that tent out on the literal EDGE of the river. The water was a couple feet away but the bank dropped off a good three feet directly below our west facing wall. Not ideal for safety but it definitely explained the duck issue. We survived that camping trip, had fun and learned a lot. Lessons learned: 1) Arrive before dark. 2) Camp at sites that have electricity. 3) Accept help from friends. 4) Read directions. 5) Beware tent stakes that go in too easy (they’re probably in soft riverbank soil). 6) You don’t have to move the tent as long as the ground holds up. In almost 35 years of marriage we have faced many life challenges. We’ve thankfully accepted help from both friends and family. And we’ve definitely learned that when a situation is difficult, we should “read the directions” that God put in the box of life. The directions say in Matthew 7:24-25: ““Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.” Pitch your tent on bedrock! Trust God’s promises. Smile and be joyful!
When my husband and I got married, my parents’ wedding gift to us was a tent for camping (because that’s what we asked for). This was no “pup tent”. In fact, our friends that we camped with nicknamed it, “The Big Top”. It was an eight man tent with a screened in porch to sleep two more. Perfect for the family we have right now but WAY big for two newlyweds. Let me just say that a person can learn a lot from putting up a tent, but this canvas giant offered more than its share of life lessons. I believe this may just be Day 1 of my stories about The Big Top (TBT). By far, the most difficult time putting up any tent is the first time. It’s all unfamiliar territory and everything is still wrapped in plastic (but at least you know all the poles are there). Our first experience with constructing TBT was in the dark on the bank of the Guadalupe River and we’d been married about a month. All our friends had arrived earlier (in the daylight) and were comfortable by the campfire or asleep by the time we arrived. And so it began... First of all the thing weighed about 150 pounds. A couple of the guys offered to help but we said “Oh, no, that’s ok! We’ve got this!” I suppose we wanted to appear competent and mature as a married couple. BIG mistake. To this day I have never seen so many tent poles in one place. That is to say, what I could see at all. Did I mention there was no electricity at this campsite? Have you ever pitched a tent in the pitch dark by the light of a Coleman lantern? Finding a spot big enough to lay the massive foundation was the first challenge. Then began the hammering of the metal stakes that mostly bent in half because the ground was so hard. Some time later the real fun began. Can someone please tell me why all tent poles look alike but don’t all fit together? I’m sure that bets were being placed as to whether we would make it to our two month anniversary. HOURS later the tent was up and we fell inside and went to sleep. I was awakened at daylight by two disturbing sounds. The first to get my attention was a lot of peeping and quacking. Turns out we had moved in right next door to (inches from) a duck nest. Those new babies were hungry and that mama duck was not too happy with us. She must have been “out on the town for her last hoorah” the night before because she definitely had not said a word. But perhaps more disturbing was the background noise that more slowly invaded my consciousness. Was that the sound of rushing water? Better check it out. As quickly as I could I unzipped the four door zippers to exit TBT. Oh, my! Somehow in the struggle the night before we had managed to stake that tent out on the literal EDGE of the river. The water was a couple feet away but the bank dropped off a good three feet directly below our west facing wall. Not ideal for safety but it definitely explained the duck issue. We survived that camping trip, had fun and learned a lot. Lessons learned: 1) Arrive before dark. 2) Camp at sites that have electricity. 3) Accept help from friends. 4) Read directions. 5) Beware tent stakes that go in too easy (they’re probably in soft riverbank soil). 6) You don’t have to move the tent as long as the ground holds up. In almost 35 years of marriage we have faced many life challenges. We’ve thankfully accepted help from both friends and family. And we’ve definitely learned that when a situation is difficult, we should “read the directions” that God put in the box of life. The directions say in Matthew 7:24-25: ““Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.” Pitch your tent on bedrock! Trust God’s promises. Smile and be joyful!
Comments
Post a Comment