I hope you aren’t tired of camping stories because I think I will have a few more! Tim and I thoroughly enjoyed our camping trips at Cherokee Dam Campground in July. Surely, my husband has his fill of fishing by now. LOL! This campground has a great family atmosphere. It is not a full hookup campground, but that’s really not as big a deal as my husband made it out to be. He planned to wait me out. Tim was sure after a few days, I would give in, shower, and do my business in the bathhouse. What’s wrong with this man? Has he completely forgotten my level of determination? I redefined the meaning of stinky, and it only took me a few hours of fishing, walking, and sweating!
It’s probably a fitting time to share that I also decided to forgo deodorant while camping. Yep, you read that right. CAUTION: THE FOLLOWING MAY BE TMI! My girls had their yearly squish scheduled the day before our camping trip, and I couldn’t wear deodorant for the test. The all-natural deodorant I had been trying out had left my pits with a slight rash. I guess being all-natural doesn’t mean allergy-free too. It became ever so grossly evident after a two-and-a-half-mile walk one morning at the campground that deodorant has a significant purpose in life, and everyone really should wear it. One would have thought I already knew that since I am a middle school teacher and my class follows the PE class.
One evening, as I was reclined in an outdoor chair waiting for my husband to cook my dinner, I took this picture of an unfamiliar bug. Side Note: I don’t think it’s my fault he bought himself a Blackstone camping grill. I also figured out that if I didn’t take any pots and pans, then everything we ate would have to be cooked on the Blackstone—the Blackstone that he doesn’t want anyone else to cook on.
If you read my blog last month, you know he purchased a big used camper for us. He told me I couldn’t add weight to the camper so I wouldn’t be “Piling it full of useless junk,” his words, not mine. I took this literally and decided the pots and pans would only add weight. Therefore, it was another great reason to leave them behind. LOL! I packed all disposable items and one good knife. Every time we tried to use the plastic silverware, it would break, and one of us constantly searched for the MIA knife.
Our camper sat under a giant oak tree, and something always seemed to be falling out of the tree onto either the camper or us. Sometimes, the falling items were identifiable; other times, they were not. Sometimes they were alive, and sometimes they were dead. For instance, the bug in this picture is both unidentifiable and deceased. I’ve never seen one like it before. And they came in all shapes and sizes, some being extra large while others were extra small. I gage this fella to be medium of the road in size. They also had a smooth exoskeleton that reminded me a little of a Japanese beetle. I found one of the Japanese beetles in my garden today. Please feel free to share with me your remedy for exterminating them!
The other creature in the picture that is hard to see is one that I’m sure all campers have crossed paths with at some time or another camping meet‒ Mr. Ant. There were loads of ants scurrying around our campsite. However, this fella caught my eye as I waited for the evening meal to come off the Blackstone. Talk about determination! That’s one commonality Mr. Ant and I both got a hefty dose of. In the same mannerisms that I was going to outwait Tim and gain access to the camper shower, this little fella was going to take his prized “dead” possession back home for a moment of glory.
Mr. Ant worked so patiently with diligent focus, yet all he could accomplish was turning in circles while repeatedly dropping his treasure. The prize was just too big for him to maneuver. There were loads of other ants near him. I wondered why he didn’t shout out in ant language for the much-needed assistance. Surely, if he asked, someone would come to his aid. Surely, one of them was a friend or, at the very least, a distant cousin. But Mr. Ant did nothing but continue trying to succeed in his impossible task.
Indulge me for a moment as we take on the persona of Mr. Ant. In my mind, I hear a whole lot of grunting and straining as he struggles. I might even hear a few cuss words escape his tightly gritted lips. I hear sorrow for having taken on such a beast to fight alone. Some tears fall to the ground as he battles the fears of defeat, desire, anger, and sadness. Tears of concern for the family, depending on him to bring the big “bug” home so they can prepare for the winter. He frets over the responsibility of someone else depending on him. What if he lets his family down? Am I a failure? Did I drop the ball with the family business? Has he bitten off more than he can chew and been somewhat overzealous in his ambition to rise above? Could Mr. Ant be feeling some hopelessness?
Mr. Ant’s bug was way bigger than him, and problems in my life equate to just that- bigger than me. Some of those issues have grown to problem status because I can make a mountain out of any molehill you give me! Yet, other problems really are monumental mountains. Diagnosis of diseases, children who have gone astray, addictions, family members who are lost, depression, and the list goes on and on. What’s one to do when the load of the “bug” is more than the tiny determined body? According to our road map, the Bible, we hand it over to God.
No amount of lifting, straining, cussing, or crying will change the fact that the “bug” is more than one can carry. God says He hears, and He cares. My son used to tell me that he only took big issues to God because God didn’t have time for small ones. The Creator of all definitely has time for both big and small concerns. God desires a relationship with all His children, and relationships come with all sizes of worries. Paul advises us in Philippians 4:6 to pray to God about anything and everything. Give God our praises and give Him our big “bugs” along with the small ones.
One of my favorite songs on the radio is by Matthew West, titled Don’t Stop Praying. Check it out if you haven’t heard it yet. I love the part of the song when he says we should be on our knees praying so much that we wear out the floor. I have people in my life who I pray for, and I can’t stop praying for them. I might be the only person they have praying for them. So, I can’t stop. I have big “bug” and small “bug” requests. And they all need someone bigger than me. They need God.
Believing in God doesn’t shield me from life’s challenges or spare me from having challenges to pray about. However, it does provide me with a relationship with Him so that I never have to face these challenges alone. God is constantly by my side, never abandons me, never forgets me, and always has time for whatever my big or small “bug” might be.
I love love love this one! ❤️