Camping Reveals True Character

I am so grateful for camping! It's beautiful and fun! It's a great way to bond with the family and nature. However, it is not always easy or comfortable. When the going gets tough and we feel out of our element our true character is revealed. In years past I haven't always liked what has been revealed about myself. This year has been a lot better. That might have a lot to do with the fact that my youngest is two and a half and sleeps through the night most of the time. New babies and tiny toddlers are a lot to worry about camping. So this year is tons easier than in times before.
Our families goal this year is to camp once a month. We are doing pretty great. We did skip February. And we were snowed out in March even though we were at the campsite and everything. January we camped in St. George, April in Oregon, May in Green Canyon, and June in Dry Canyon. We have bought new backpacking gear and that adds a whole new realm of possiblities. We have really simplified packing and unpacking. We have lots of big helpers. It's really been fun!
Last weekend we backpacked in a mile and then camped. It was tons of fun until night. The ground was very hard and I got a migraine headache. I wasn't able to sleep from 11pm until 3 am. But I'm very grateful for the experience!!! Even at the time I knew it was helping me understand a tiny bit of what millions of other people experience everyday. Pain, discomfort, minimal shelter and amenities, displacement, poverty, etc. Just like fasting helps us feel a bit more understanding and compassion for those who are truly hungry, camping helps me understand and feel campassion for those less fortunate. It helps me better imagine what they have and are going through.
Before I had children I heard of a pioneer woman having a baby in the back of a leaking wagon during a rainstorm. I thought that would be hard and awful. But when I was in the middle of labor myself and recalled the story it took on a much deeper meaning. The woman must have suffered greatly. She must have felt a terrible amount of fear. She became superhuman to me then.
I'm so grateful for these physical experiences that draw me closer to my fellowman and my God. He has blessed us so very much!! I love Him!!!