Family Time..
I just finished re-reading Gary Smalley's book 'If Only He Knew'. I have read it several times now. He confronts husbands and challenges them to a better relationship with their wives.
Toward the end of the book, he takes a moment to speak on the subject of relationship building for the whole family. He shared camping as an activity that had a proven track record of unifying a family. As illustrated in his book, it isn't always easy-going while they were camping, but made the way for long-lasting memories that they all remembered and laughed about for years.
Below is one story from his book that made me think of so many of our trips and camping experiences as a family.
"Colorado was the destination for our own trip in our own trailer. We could hardly wait to experience the beauty of snow-capped peaks and sniff the aroma of pine trees. I could already hear the sizzle of rainbow trout frying in the pan. As we started up the mountain, our station wagon slowed from 50 miles per hour to 30, then to 25, then to 20, until we finally slowed to the pace of 15 miles per hour. "Hot" read the temperature gauge. I felt like I was wired to the engine because my palms were sweating so. Our children sensed the tension in the air and became hyper and loud."I've got to stop at the next pull-off area," I told them. My nerves were frayed as I pulled over. All three kids jumped out immediately. I hadn't even had time to worry about the overheated car when our youngest, Michael, screamed at the top of his lungs.His older brother, relieving some pent-up energy, had kicked what he thought to be an empty can. Unfortunately, it was half-full of transmission fluid. The can had landed upside down on Michael's head, and he was covered from head to toe, a terribly unhappy little boy. His nose, his ears, even his mouth were dripping with it. Not expecting such a calamity, we had no water in the trailer to clean him up. We worried that he had injured his eyes because he blinked rapidly the rest of the trip."
