To RV or to not RV?
To RV or to not RV, that is the question…
Since before we decided to bite the bullet and actually set a date for exploring the ‘wild blue yonder’ of Oz, we had pretty much decided that we were going to get a Bus RV, you know, a bus that has been converted into a ‘home on wheels’ that we could use for travelling around the country.
What really captured me with the Bus-RV was the fact that it was ’spacious’; for Tim it was driving a bus - I think it’s a boy thing (he did mention that he reckoned it was every boy’s dream - alright, when Tim read this he said, “it’s not just driving a bus, it’s the space too - I like the thought of being able to get up while you’re driving and work at the table or get myself a drink too!”) - the idea of driving a bus just didn’t have that kind of appeal for me, but, after my initial concern with how BIG a bus is, I was quietly postive that I’d be able to do it, although it didn’t excite me in the same way it did Tim!
After checking out LeisureFest and quite a few RVs, we knew that the bus option was what we wanted - we just needed now to find one that would suit our family and our “budget”! Gini from the Not Crazy forum said
…in my 50 years of vast experience in travelling/camping, all over OZ in all sorts of accomodation, or none as the case has been at times, we have always found Caravans the best. That way you can drop it off - and you have still got a car to go off anywhere… The one thing that we found while travelling, is there are a lot of national parks which you couldn’t go into with a Bus or such, so that’s where a car is handy… Friends have a bus and they tow a litle car behind, but that seems clumsy too…
When somebody tells you that they have ‘50 years of vast experience in travelling/camping, all over OZ in all sorts of accomodation, or none as the case has been at times, we have always found Caravans the best…’ you pay attention, even if you have already made up your mind, well, kind of. I must admit I pretty much discounted this advice at first, but, well, let’s just say it got me thinking even though I was unaware of it at the time!
So just this morning, I decided that the sensible thing to do would be to actually ask God what he knew would be the best for us! Sometimes I just forget that getting God’s opinion on something is a really good idea, and it doesn’t take long; it’s not like I have to take a number and join the end of the line or something! It is times like these that I am quite grateful that we are not currently in the situation where we could have already rushed out and bought our Bus-RV! Now after writing this and then having a discussion with Tim about prayer (talking and listening to God) and how little we really do it (I am ashamed and embarrassed to say) and how we need (not should, need - there is a major difference here) to do it sooo much more in so many more areas of our lives. And then I checked out my Ransomed Heart daily emails and read the following:
Watch how Moses leads Israel out of bondage, and guides them to the Promised Land. Notice how every chapter telling the story of the Exodus begins, from chapter six to chapter fourteen: “Then the Lord said to Moses…” and the rest of the chapter is Moses doing what God told him to do. Is this how the men you know run their corporations, their churches, their families? I’m stunned by how little daily guidance Christian men seek from God. They have a good idea, and they just go do it. (Hmmm. I know it’s talking about men here, but that sure sounds like me!) Not the great kings. Look at David. “In the course of time, David inquired of the Lord. ‘Shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah?’ he asked. The Lord said, ‘Go up.’ David asked, ‘Where shall I go?’ ‘To Hebron,’ the Lord answered. So David went up there…” (2 Samuel 2:1-2). In his heart, and in his daily practice, David is a man yielded to God. He is called, may I remind you, a man after God’s own heart. From the book ‘The Way of The Wild Heart’ p. 222, 223 by John Eldredge
I think God is making a point here for Tim and I and agreeing with us, basically saying, “Yes, I want you to do this; this is what I want from you kids, yield your life to me, your heart to me and we will walk together you and I, and I will guide you and lead you in all you do.” Trust is an issue that God is bringing up with me a lot at the moment (by a lot, I mean every day, several times a day!) and yielding my life to God, is trusting him with my life, trusting him, believing that he truly does have my best interests at heart. When you talk to other Christians about this kind of stuff, they tend to go, “yeah, of course…” (and probably think, ‘what are you thick, or something?’) and I would have been the same not that long ago too, but God is leading us into a much deeper level for us in this area of our lives, and it is hard, very hard, but it is also very good!
Anyway, I was in the shower, (it’s one of my favourite places to chat with God - unfortunately water restrictions make long showers out of the question, so my shower chats with God are on the short side these days, but that’s okay, we chat at many other times throughout the day too). So I asked God, “What would be the best vehicle for us to have - an RV or a caravan we could tow with our “new” car? I got this picture in my head of a big red 4 wheel drive towing one of those big off road caravans we walked passed at Liesurefest but didn’t bother looking at because we were looking at RVs.
Immediately after the picture I had this thought, ‘if we are in a Bus-RV, or even in our car with a caravan on the back, we will NOT be able to go to some of the wild, out of the way, hard to get to places we’d like really like to go to.’ It was clear this time, instead of just a little niggle in the back of my head, which has been bothering me for a little while now, but I haven’t been giving it any airplay.
And then I remembered a friend telling me about people they knew who converted a Tarago to a four wheel drive so they could drive along the beaches up the top end of Queensland and Northern Territory. I would love to do that - drive along the beach and camp there… I mean, how beautiful and awesome is that? When I mentioned it to Brydon he really wanted to do it too. And I realised how “jacked off” and “ripped off” I would feel if we were there and we couldn’t do it because we’re in a Bus-RV or our car (which is not 4 wheel drive)!
Tim and I don’t want to just travel around Australia doing the ‘normal tourist spots’ everyone does, we want to experience this wonderful country in all it’s glory and wildness, we want to go ‘the road less travelled’, and the wild places and be amazed at the awesome beauty of our amazing God who created all this for us to enjoy.
So I guess, to RV or to not RV? It’s looking very definitely like the ‘not’ option. And it could mean I get that Ford Territory I’ve always wanted! Woohoo!!
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