A few weeks ago, I heard a quote in church that changed everything for me: “The only difference between an ADVENTURE and an ORDEAL is your ATTITUDE!”
When I heard that, something inside of me said: “STOP! LISTEN! APPLY! THHHAAAT WAS IMPORTANT!”
A few days later, I was given the opportunity to stop, listen, and apply it! Spur of the moment, my son asked if we could go camping! We have a 4-year-old, a 2-year-old, and a 1-year-old, and we thought to ourselves… why not?? We have all the gear! We have a truck! We’re striving to be more adventurous as a couple and with our children and I’m working on being more spontaneous so… YES! We can go camping! We’ll go this weekend!
When Friday came, it was camping day! And…my husband has a track record of not being home when he says he’s going to.
But? Adventure? Or ordeal? It’s my choice. My attitude makes all the difference.
I could have been grumpy at my husband for not coming home until 5:30 pm, but instead, I chose to be grateful he was home!
I could have been grumpy that we didn’t leave our house until 7:00 pm because he needed to clean out the truck and pack up, but instead, I chose to do what I could to help, and be grateful he thought about all the little things we’d need for our family adventure!
I could have been grumpy that we still needed to stop for gas, and at the grocery store, and stop for dinner, so we didn’t REALLY get on the road until almost 8 pm (with those three littles I mentioned above), but instead, I chose to have fun at dinner with my family, and feel grateful that my husband and I could divide and conquer to complete the other tasks! I bought things we needed at the grocery store while my husband got gas!
I could have been grumpy that we didn’t get to the campsite until after 9 PM, and had to set up our tent in the dark, but instead, I thought ahead and had my kids take a nap later in the day so they’d have some extra juice late at night, and we chose to make setting up the tent a flashlight adventure! My kids and I had a blast collecting twigs for the fire in the dark while my husband set up the tent!
As a result? Our camping trip was SO great! Our 4-year-old was in heaven helping my husband build the fire! Our girls (2 and 1) were tired so they went right to sleep when the tent was ready, and my husband, our 4-year-old son, and I sat around the campfire and talked and made s’mores.
We woke up, had a small breakfast, went on two family hikes, had lunch, packed up, and came home! It was a short trip, but it was amazing! And we’re planning to go again and again!
And? It was an adventure! Because we had good attitudes! 🥳🥰
Give yourself grace momma. We can’t be perfect at this, or anything, but we can be aware. And we can strive to be better. “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” -Maya Angelou
Let’s seek for an adventurous life!
Let’s seek to have good attitudes.
