Our weekend away had arrived. Soon 5 of us women would be piling into a van
to head to our annual church retreat where we would spend time laughing,
learning and most importantly, eating delicious meals we didn't have to
cook.
Gathering at our driver’s house,
we lined up our suitcases to load into the back of her vehicle. One suitcase - my sister’s - stood out due to
it being the oh-so-attention getting shade of safety cone orange. She admitted it was her luggage from over 20
years ago, but it had served her well and didn't show any wear so she’d never replaced
it. Mixed in with our other traveling bags of
contemporary purples, blacks, tapestries and polka dots, we couldn't help but
razz her a little bit that she might want to look into new luggage when we got
back….
That
being said, we headed off and had a marvelous time. As always, the weekend passed quickly and the
retreat was over all too soon. Before we
knew it, it was time to return home.
Back in my friend’s van we and our belongings went on Sunday afternoon,
our heads and hearts (and stomachs) full of all we had taken in over the past
two days. We chatted among ourselves going
home, sharing stories the whole way, eager to get back to our families waiting for
us.
And
then we heard the clunk. And felt the
lurch. And realized we had to get off
the road fast because, just as we were nearing our destination, we had a flat
tire.
Sighs
of deflation were heard all around.
To make
matters worse, we were on a busy, crowded highway where the only place to pull
off was a strip of macadam barely wide enough to be called a shoulder. It was more like a “You’ll be lucky if you
can squeeze your car in here; don’t try opening any doors” space. But, pull off we did and sat there to assess
our fate for a moment. A few of us got
out of the van to inspect said flat tire, but quickly realized we were taking
our lives in our hands by doing so as the flat was on the driver’s side, which
was only inches away from a steady stream of fully mobile cars going 60 miles
an hour.
Back in the van, we called AAA, who
promised to come help us but also promised it would be well over an hour before
they would arrive. Ugh. All we could do was wait in the van on our
cramped little strip of roadside. The
more we sat there with multitudes of traffic whizzing by us to our left, the
more we felt like sitting ducks waiting to be plowed into from behind by
someone not realizing we were at a dead, parked stop.
We knew
we needed something. A marker of sorts
that we could put out behind our vehicle to let other drivers know to watch out
for us. Something that would get
their attention and cause them to notice that our van was helplessly over to
the side, to alert them to steer clear of us…..
That’s
the moment we remembered we were in possession of one very bright orange
suitcase.
Upon that realization, a few of us tumbled out of the van, opened the back hatch and pulled
my sister’s luggage to the front of the pile.
It was absolutely perfect ; the color was so bold and brazen that we put
the piece at an angle right behind the flat tire. Immediately we felt safer. And a little ashamed of ourselves. What
we had originally advised her to replace was exactly what we needed right now.
We did
not get hit- fortunately- and the neon orange of the suitcase even alerted a
passing truck driver that we were in need of assistance. He stopped ahead of us, changed our flat and
we were on our way home before AAA even had a chance to call back. What could have been a major headache in our
day turned out to be just a small interruption on our way home, and the rest of
the trip was event free.
I am not sure if my sister ever
bought new luggage, but I’m glad she hadn’t prior to that trip. God knew we were going to need what she had;
He is that much in the details. He can
use the outdated things, the less-than-trendy pieces, and the not-so-much-like-all-the-rest
parts of us to accomplish His purposes.
We don’t have to be the latest, the greatest, or the best in order for
Him to use us. We just need to be His.
All in all the weekend was a huge
success, thanks to a bright orange suitcase and a very creative, all-knowing
God.
