Lessons learned from the Backpack Trip

Before our backpack trip, we had all agreed that 18 miles was about as far as some of us could go. We didn't think the kids could go much farther, and Tyson's parents didn't feel like they could go more than 6 miles a day.

But, because of our last minute changes, we unwittingly embarked on a loop that turned out to be a full 24 miles. It was longer than we thought we could go. It was longer than we wanted to go. But fortunately, we had the ability to go that far (enough food, stamina, etc.) and we made it. 

So many times, I feel like we'll embark on goals, projects, work, school, family endeavors, or just plain be going through something hard in life, and we are sure we can only go "so far" when things get hard. More often than not, we have to go much farther than we thought. School takes longer, having a family takes more energy than we believed, computers crash, cars break down, and a whole lot of unexpected kicks in, preventing "things going as planned." Unknowing to us, it was planned--Heavenly Father's way. And I'm thankful that Heavenly Father has it planned that way. He shows us that we are stronger than we think, do more than we thought possible. We learn and grow more deeply. 

This backpack trip with our family was just a very minuscule moment in our family life, but it left a huge impression on me. I'm still in awe that Jeffrey (4) and Amri (3) walked a whole twenty-four miles on their own. Somehow I've always been pregnant for every backpack trip, but this was our longest backpack trip yet. And there were two more kids that needed to be carried more often than not. Yet we made it, and enjoyed it most of the way, taking the path less traveled and marveling in the beauty and wonder of it all. And I hope that when I face hard things in the future, I can remember that, with grace, I can make it as far as I need to go.