I was sitting in a parent meeting a few months ago for my sweet boys who had signed up for a back packing trip to Wind River mountain range in Pinedale, Wyoming.  As I listened to the leader (Jeff) talk about the intensity of the trip, I quickly began to question whether or not my boys would be able to manage the trip at all.  I wanted to find reasons to encourage them not to go and help them realize this may not be a great idea, when all of the sudden something happened.

Jeff said he was still looking for a “girl leader” to join the adventure and then he literally called me out on it and said I should try to go.

And get this… (My boys agreed) – what in the world?

I mostly blew it off and headed home for the evening telling Jeff that I would pray about it. (I was pretty much kidding about that though).

But the thought wouldn’t leave my mind, so I began to question the idea.  “God is this you”?  Are you behind this?

I emailed Jeff the next day and said, “I’m going to see if I can get the time off of work and we’ll go from there.” 

I mentioned it to my team at work, and that’s when it became clear.  They said, “You better go”.

That was about 2 months ago now.

Let me tell you something, the adventure has already begun.  The boys and I have shopped for gear together, both in the stores and on-line, and just yesterday we met with the rest of our group to pack our backpacks and load them into a trailer.  It’s official now.  I’m really going.

We leave first thing Monday morning. (Lord help us).

You see yes, I am worried about the fact that Jeff has repeatedly said that this is the hardest thing we will EVER do in our lives.

And… that he let me know that I should start taking some ibuprofen the day before we leave.  I am also concerned about the fact that my pack weights 25+ pounds and that I won’t be able to wash my hair for a week.

Oh there’s more too… You know, things like altitude sickness, blisters, and the biggest thing… Creatures – bears and what not.  Who gets up and goes to the bathroom when there’s bears outside?  (I’ll soon find out if the answer is me or not).

But here’s the thing.  I cannot deny that this is God’s idea and because of that, I say yes Lord.

So, stretch me Papa.  Beyond my wildest imagination and then some. Show me how strong Jen really is, and please keep us all safe too.

 

 

 

 

http://www.jenwagenmaker.com/2017/07/841.html