Hope
When families walk into a vendor hall at a homeschool convention, they find neat rows of booths stocked with curriculum and other useful resources. First time attendees are overwhelmed. I remember that feeling. The first time Ray and I “wide opened our mouths” at a vendor hall was in 1991 when we attended the Illinois Christian Home Educators convention on the campus of Wheaton College near Chicago, Illinois. When I compare that memory to what Ray and I see weekend after weekend today, it’s like comparing a convenience store to a large super market. Homeschooling has come a very long way.
Since beginning Notgrass Company in 1999, we have seen vendor halls from the other side of the aisle. That’s when we became a part of the gypsy caravan which travels from state to state each spring and summer. I love when convention season begins and we get to see all our vendor friends whom we haven’t seen since the year before. It’s like a family reunion.
Several hours (and often the day before) a convention begins, vendor after vendor pulls up to the loading dock. Over the next many hours, literally tons of homeschooling materials and shelving and cash registers are pushed, pulled, and carried into the vendor hall. The camaraderie is fun.
“What show did you do last weekend?”
“How’d it go?”
“You going to Minnesota?”
The work is hard, the hours are long, we miss our families, but we love each other and share much joy. We’re all in this together. We talk about how things used to be, how they are now, and the outlook for the future. A few weeks ago Renee Miller of Miller Pads and Paper told me some stories of their early days. She told me that they used to sleep on top of their boxes in their vehicle because they couldn’t afford hotels. Back in our own early days, we drove all night to Richmond, Virginia, to save on one night’s hotel bills, but we never slept on our boxes! The Millers were true pioneers.
Once the convention begins, we are busy doing what we came to do. If the hall is crowded, we smile and wave as we pass one another on the way to the restroom or to grab a bite of lunch–if there’s time. If the hall is deserted, we walk across the aisle and swap stories about homeschooling trends, our gypsy lifestyles, or our folks back home. Silently we hope that traffic in the vendor hall will pick up.
When the convention is over, we scurry to get everything packed up and hauled back to our vans, trailers, and rented trucks. As we push, pull, and carry in the opposite direction we went a couple of days ago, we call out:
“How’d you do?”
“Will you be in Arlington next weekend?”
“No, we’re going to Harrisburg.”
“Are you going home first or will you stay on the road?”
Folks weren’t in such a hurry to leave this past Saturday night after the FPEA (Florida Parent Educators Association) convention. While workers for the decorating company pulled skirts off tables, took down booth curtains, and dismantled the pipes that held them up, the vendor family gathered for a memorial service for one of our own. We encircled the Miller family of Miller Pads and Paper to say goodbye to their patriarch, Randy, who died of a massive heart attack on Wednesday while setting up for the convention. David Quine shared the hope of God’s word and vendors who had known him the longest shared stories of Randy and their life on the road together. We heard stories about a man who loved his wife, children, and grandchildren; who would drive for miles to help a fellow vendor in trouble on the road; who always had a smile for everyone; and whom we will miss very much. We agreed that we knew nothing negative about this godly man. Together we prayed and we sang a hymn written by Edward Mote in 1834:
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
On Christ the solid rock I stand.
All other ground is sinking sand.
All other ground is sinking sand.
We hugged Renee and each other and we walked away from the circle with hope.
. . . and hope does not disappoint,
because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts
through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
For while we were still helpless,
at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
Romans 5:5-6, NASB