Just get out of the way

This past weekend Bruce and I hosted our 7th annual NROTC UMaine Alumni and friends at the lake. The first couple reunions were wild and crazy, but over time, the weekends have morphed into a do-nothing relaxing weekend of catching up, rehashing stories, eating, taking naps in the hammocks, and dips in the lake. Oh, can't forget about binge-watching Caveman TV.

(Three members are missing from the photo.)

What is Caveman TV you ask? It is entertainment that involves fire. Once the sun begins its downward trajectory in the western sky our gears shift from eating and swimming to building a fire and arranging camp chairs around the pit. On Saturday, the weatherman had predicted rain for most of the day into the evening, so when golden hues burned through the cloud cover exposing a spotty blue canvas at 9:30 in the morning, we all decided we needed to take advantage of the sun while we had its presence. We set out to build our fire early.

Tom and I - a.k.a. the fire masters - grabbed dry tinder, paper, and his handy-dandy torch. We set to work like skilled arsonists. WIth the help of butane, we lit the tinder and paper quickly. But the wet wood was being stubborn. We were impatient and added some rain soaked wood a little too soon. No worries, Tom grabbed a piece of cardboard and fanned the young embers encouraging them to ignite the damp fuel. All he seemed to produce was more and more smoke.

As he was dancing around the smoke trying to oxygenate the fire, a breeze from the lake slipped passed him exciting the flames better than what he was trying to do. After several more attempts using the cardboard, he realized he was blocking the breeze that was doing a much better job at fanning the flames. He had an ah-ha moment and said something like, "Gee, I just need to get out of the way and let God do the work!"

As soon as he did just that - got out of the way - the fire gently but consistently grew and the wet wood at last caught fire.

I too had an ah-hah moment sparked by Tom's revelation. I excitedly told him I needed to go write down what he had just said so I would remember it for my next blog post. While Tom was not preaching when he stated about getting out of God's way and to just let Him do the work - my mind-bender shouted, but that is how things work!

So often we run around in life trying to do everything on our own strength, know-how, resources, and or ingenuity. We think we are the only ones that know the answers or can do it the right way. I know I have struggled - still do - with a it's my way or the highway mentality. When I am running around like a mad women, sometimes I can't even get out of my own way. The harder I work the more smoke I create that chokes out my progress. There is truth in that well-known phrase "Work smarter - not harder."

A great way to implement the work smarter - not harder principle is to just get out of the way and let God do the work. I am not talking about sitting back and doing nothing. But rather that we should check in with Him to make sure what it is that we are trying to accomplish is for His ways and not our own. When we do this, He will do the work and create a blaze in our hearts that is unextinquishable.

Even if you don't agree with my views of faith, at times we all need to get out of the way and realize we don't have all the answers and or skills. We need each other and when we can accept help, advice, constructive criticism, and pointers we will be better at building up instead of dancing around the smoke.

With our fire going, soggy wood lining the parameter to dry until needed, and chairs filled with relaxing guests, Season 7 episode 2 of Caveman TV was ready to be watched.

I hope you enjoyed this post of another one of my life-adventure stories.

Emily

PS - Chapter 4 of Happy Hiking: Falling in Love on the Appalachian Trail is available for listening at The Hiking Radio Network episode #442 Steve is reading one chapter from my book at the end of his hiker interviews.