Taking a family trip is never easy with a large family, but one thing we’ve learned is to just do it. Pack the bags, clear the schedule, and get away together. It’ll really never get easier – there are always unfinished projects, work, school, activities, and more. But it’ll always be worth setting it all aside to spend time together.
We drove 14 hours to get to Kentucky, which by the way, is an absolutely gorgeous place. When you come from flat prairie where the wind is almost always howling, those lush, rolling hills are like heaven. I could have stayed and just stared over those hills!
Back to the drive – we have a couple children who really can’t stand being trapped in a vehicle for very long. We had quite a few challenging and character building moments. Taking a vacation isn’t always the easy choice! We did make long stops to play at playgrounds so that helped. We found this really cool tank in Illinois that was used by the Marines in WWII, The Vietnam War, and The Korean War. Of course, we had to send a photo to big brother in the Marines.
The Creation Museum and the Ark never disappoint! They are amazing. If you know Jesus as your Savior but don’t truly understand Genesis, you need to go. You will have your eyes opened to God’s power, sovereignty, plan, purposes for everything, and His love. There’s no denying there’s a Creator, and an intelligent one. There’s no denying He is so powerful He did exactly what He said He would.
It was fun to watch my older children walk through and read and experience these places again. They were there six years ago but could comprehend and take in so much more this time. I saw their faith deepening and awakening as we visited.
Every evening we sat together in our Airbnb and wrote down our favorite things from the day, which was a really fun way to remember the day. There were different exhibits that struck each person differently, there were lessons that stuck out, and there was some good thought happening.
The younger kids loved the zoos. There were really different animals than we have at our zoo and it was fun to see them all. The King Vulture was a favorite as he spread his wings and showed off. At the Ark the kids really loved the displays showing how the animals would have been housed and cared for. They had some really ingenious ideas on how this could have happened and it was eye opening to think about all that would have gone into planning and building the Ark. We did some fun things too, ziplining, a carousel, a 4D movie, and the playgrounds.
It was hard for me to decide what my favorite things were but a few stick out. One, on the long drives Eloise wanted me to sit next to her in the first bench so Elliot and I would trade seats. It was heartwarming to see Andrew and Elliot relate to each other and just have that time together. I often look at that giant of a boy and wonder how he grew up. And I just love that he has such an amazing relationship with his dad.
Another thing that really stays with me is in the evenings when we got back to the Airbnb we’d all have supper and then squish together on the couch and watch Little House on the Prairie. They had a channel that just ran the episodes continually! We got so invested in what was happening and would cheer and yell NO as characters did things. Then we’d laugh at ourselves for how invested we were!
Lastly, there was an exhibit called Fearfully and Wonderfully Made. It walked through how a baby develops from conception to birth, showing how big the baby is at each stage and what part of their body is developing. I watched my children look on in wonder and awe. They asked questions in hushed tones as though they were seeing something sacred. Which, in fact, they were. We showed them how big Jonah was when he went to heaven. They were all so taken in by it and all I could think was, Thank you, God, for placing deep in their hearts a respect and love for the sacredness of life. It’s something that is so missing in our world today.
If you don’t believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, know he loves you and has loved you from before you were even formed. Go see for yourself how much he loves you! It’s worth the drive!
As we were driving home, Andrew said, “I’m really glad we did this. We’re all going to remember it for a long time.”
One thing I want to leave you with is this. At one point in the Ark, you come upon the door. There was only one door into the Ark and God sealed it until the day they were to leave the Ark. On that door is a lighted cross. Wonder why?
Because Jesus is the One Door through which we have to go to get to heaven and eternal life. There is no other way. This world and even many pastors will tell you there are many roads and many gates to heaven. But it just isn’t true.
Jesus said, “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and go in and out and find pasture.”
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