The Suitcase

My littles enjoying the view. Notice the Mac-n-cheese in the camping pot? We forgot bowls so we had to make do. Ha! Childhood at its finest.

There’s such a great quote from the book The Hiding Place that I think of often. The book is about the ten Boom family and their life before and after the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands in 1940. At one point in the book, she recalls a moment of being on a train with her father when she is a little girl. They are on their way home from getting watch parts for his watch repair business and she asks him a question about how children are conceived and his answer comes to my mind often when thinking about raising my little ones. In answer to her deep question, he asks Corrie to come and carry his suitcase.

“Will you carry it off the train Corrie?” he said. I stood up and tugged at it. It was crammed with the watches and spare parts he had purchased that morning. “It’s too heavy,” I said. “Yes,” he said. “And it would be a pretty poor father who would ask his little girl to carry such a load. It’s the same way, Corrie, with knowledge. Some knowledge is too heavy for children. When you are older and stronger you can bear it. For now you must trust me to carry it for you.”

I think of that scene often when the things going on in the world are too much to carry. What the world must have looked like in the wake of the 1940’s!

When I first became a new mom, I was delighted and amazed at my new role. How much I learned in that first year! One of the most important things I learned about children that year is how much they love to play and be silly and have fun. I discovered my own need for it as well. When I get on the floor and play with my kids they are so happy! And it brings me to a place where I remember what matters in life. Children’s worlds are full of fun, games, characters, and nature. I love that they innately see what is good in life.

We took them camping this week and being in nature with them awakens my spirit. They were content to throw rocks in the river and laugh at me when I fell off a log trying to cross a stream. We sat there on a quilt and ate our snack while their dad fished. Later, they thought it was the most fun to scooter around the campground laughing the whole way. They never complained when our air mattress deflated or when we didn’t have very many options for dinner. They complained about leaving because they were having so much fun. Fun, I need more of it in my life. And I need more elements of childhood in my life to acquaint me with a different side of life. Daily I am reminded that sometimes some knowledge is too heavy for me as well to carry. The world seems very heavy most days. There’s moments where I feel challenged and called to pick up and carry the heavy suitcase to stretch my muscles and grow stronger. Then, there’s days and situations that are inside the suitcase that make it impossible to carry. It is too heavy. I’m learning what things I can carry and what things I need to surrender. When I have an invitation to join in their childhood and have a moment filled with play, I’m learning to take the opportunity. I need it as much as them.