I Just LOVE It When I am WRONG!

Last week I was lucky enough to be up in Tahoe camping with my amazing family. 

This in and of itself was a bit of an accomplishment.  For one, I had resisted it with many temper tantrums similar to a toddler.   

In my mind I had concretely decided we should be out of the country and on our Costa Rican vacation which we have now planned and cancelled, more than four or five times, for various reasons, both within and out of our control.  

Last week we had once again planned to be in Costa Rica.  And then, life showed up once again to alter our travel plans.  We course corrected (in my mind downgraded) and scheduled a road trip to visit the National Parks in Utah and New Mexico.  Don’t worry, I recognize the spoiled brat in these thoughts.  

However, I was HOLDING on to how I THOUGHT it was SUPPOSED to be.  I had a vision of what it should look like and I had subconsciously told myself I liked that vision enough to reject all others. In my unwillingness to let go and accept what was amazingly in front of me, I gripped tightly to what could have been.  

For more reasons, too many to mention, our road trip then transformed into a three night camping trip to Tahoe.  

By this time I began to soften to life’s beautiful corrections.  And of course then magical things started to happen.  

1) I refreshingly laughed at myself a bit in recognition of my ridiculousness which shifted me into a space of allowing things to change and be fluid  

2) I FINALLY began to see that maybe this was all being done in my favor.  

Yes indeed, things are being done FOR us not TO us.

3) I learned I don’t know what I need as much as my guides in life do and that going with the flow makes a lot of sense and saves a lot of energy and time.

Too often I need a good kick in the pants to release my stubborn will and trust the ride.   In this case I’m proud to say, after some trial and error…. I did let go and embrace the flow of “camping”.  

And…… IT…. WAS… INCREDIBLE!  ……………OF COURSE IT WAS!!!!! 

I LITERALLY FORGOT HOW MUCH I LOVE BEING OUTSIDE IN THE FRESH AIR, WITH NO DISTRACTIONS, AND WITH PEOPLE I LOVE, SLEEPING UNDER THE STARS AND SOAKING UP THE MOMENT BECAUSE THAT’S ALL THERE IS TO BE HAD.  I HAVEN’T ENJOYED MYSELF IN THIS WAY IN ‘FO ‘EVA!  TOO LONG.   

It turns out all the while, the sweet, kind; gracious hand of God was literally looking after me.  I was MEANT to be camping.  I was exactly where I was supposed to be and I was so deeply looked after and blessed every single step of the way.  Every altered plan, every cancelled moment, even when my son got sick with all of our cars packed and paddleboards on the cars on the way to Tahoe and had to drive back home and go back up the next day making the trip only 2 nights instead of 3, even then!   Every single bit of it was perfectly done for my favor.   For Me, Not To Me!  And I am deeply, deeply, deeply grateful.  

Previous to this event I held a stale view on camping.  It’s an activity I did so much as a child that I think I’d considered it personally outdated or no longer useful in some sense.  

How sometimes I just LOVE when I am wrong!

I feel like I have a new love, a new passion, a new hobby and definitely a new reason to visit different aisles at REI!   

I honestly have since filled every open night on my calendar with camping opportunities for the warmer season and have my fingers crossed for a long Indian Summer to extend my outdoor time because let’s get real, I am still a fair weather camper. 

Going forward I aim to pay more attention to KNOWING I am being held by a divine source in every detail of the day.

And I will gratefully thank God when I am wrong!

Hannah Zackney