Mind the Gap
October 21, 2020 by Kim Stokely
Filed under Humor, Stories
By Kim Stokely –
Is it just my kids, or do others recall the oddest things from family vacations? We take them to Disney World and they don’t talk about rollercoaster rides or Mickey Mouse, but hotel pools and getting wet in the rain. And if you ask my children what they remember most from their vacation to England several years ago, they’ll probably laugh and tell you to, “Mind the gap!”
If you press them they’ll tell you about Stonehenge and the Tower of London, but the thing that stands out most in their minds is the ever present, disembodied voice on the tube (the underground train) telling passengers to “mind the gap” at every station. The gap is the space between the train car and the platform, sometimes several inches wide. As the rattling subway approached the station, a proper British voice, like an invisible, yet vigilant sentinel, would call out its warning and we’d laugh, repeating it to each other as we jumped off the car to go sightseeing.
Even with the cautioning voice, we saw several people trip as their foot got caught in the gap. They’d stumble, but manage to right themselves, before they fell. I must confess to a little self-righteous judgment when I saw them. If they’d only paid attention, they’d have been fine. The funny thing is, most of the people we saw trip weren’t obvious tourists, like my family, but Londoners who more than likely ride the tube every day. People for whom the journey had become routine. They didn’t hear the warning because of being caught up in their own thoughts and worries about the day.
I wonder how often it is that I ignore God’s reminders to “mind the gap?” I may not hear a voice with a British accent cautioning me, but I know there are daily signs He gives me to keep me in His will. And yet I, like those passengers on the subway, often get so focused on my own little world and the hurried pace of the day, that I find my foot caught in the gap (or sometimes planted solidly in my mouth) and I end up sprawled in sin or just consumed by needless angst. Psalm 119:105 tells us, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path” (NLT). It can also be that still, small voice that reminds us daily to “mind the gap!”
Kim Stokely has toured throughout the country in a one-person musical about women in the Bible. She lives in Nebraska with her husband and a variety of creatures including: two teenagers, two dogs, a parakeet and a legless lizard. Her stories have been printed in Chicken Soup for the Soul, Vista, and Writers’ Journal and she invites you to visit her website @ www.kimstokely.com to read her award winning short story, Bingo.
Your article about vacation memories made me smile, remembering my own family jokes. These incidents are endearing in their own way.
Your last paragraph brought tears and just the right perspective to “minding that gap.” Thank you for writing this essay.
Mary, a writing friend of mine called those “inside” jokes your family code. Those special memories and phrases that only those you’ve shared your life with can know.
Thanks for your kind words.
Kim
Spot on as usual! We have to actively listen for the Lord’s voice every day and not let familiarity make us numb to it else our ‘gap’ may turn into a crevice.
I’m hoping to avoid those crevices and glad I have friends like you to pull me out should I fall in one!
I don’t know… I wouldn’t mind if God sounded like Paul Bettany…
My parents have a tape recording of us as children. We went to California, saw Knotts Berry Farm, Disneyland, the ocean. My dad asked, “What’d you see in California?” My brother chimed in a childish voice, “A firetruck!”
Rhonda, you’re too funny!
Love your writing always! I see you standing in many gaps all the time. I’m so proud of you.
Love your story. With four children of my own, I can relate to the funny, but random, family memories. One of my favorite things in life is to listen to my children reminisce about family outings. Their laughter and perspective is music to my ears. Thanks for sharing!