Have you Ever Felt so Fully Focused it was as if Time was Standing Still?

It had been raining on and off for all four days of our backpacking trip.

I listened to the pitter-patter of water droplets hitting the A-framed tarp above me. My hat and the layers of clothes I wore inside my sleeping bag did little to ward off the chilly spring morning. It soon became evident the moisture I was feeling beneath me was more than just damp air. Water had begun to puddle under my sleeping bag. As I rolled to my side, I surveyed my two young children sleeping on the ground between my husband and me. They had been such troopers since we had left on this training experience. Cold, rain, hunger, and fatigue had taken their toll on the kids, but they were handling it far better than Adam or me!

In an effort to keep the children dry and allow them to sleep a while longer, I pulled our son Connor up on top of me and away from the growing puddle. Adam did the same for Samantha. Neither of us spoke. We were far too miserable for that. I had no idea what time it was, though a dim gray light began to tint the sky. No one else from our camp was moving so I resigned to lay there a while longer. I was beyond my breaking point. We had endured so much over the last few days I didn’t know how much more I could take. 

As a family, we were participating in a pre-field training program in preparation for moving to Haiti.

During the training, we spent time learning to navigate various terrain with a topographical map while carrying all of our supplies on our backs. Survival skills were not a specific need for our mission assignment, but spending time in the wilderness was a highly effective way of simulating life outside of our comfort zones! 

Our time in the wilderness had challenged me more than I ever could have imagined. Up until that moment, it had been one of the hardest things I had ever done. 

Those handful of days in the Ozark Mountains felt all-consuming at the time. While we were out in the woods, I could only think about what was going on right there. I had to get through that day or even just that moment! There was so much hardship, struggle, anxiety, and stress wrapped up in a short period of time, and it felt like it might never end. But it did end, and our family survived. Not only did we survive, but we learned so much about ourselves both individually and as a family.

So many times when hardship finds its way into our lives, it can feel all-consuming.

The pain of loss seems like it will never end. A poor choice threatens to perpetually weigh us down. Hurt from a physical or emotional wound takes longer to heal than we ever imagined it would.

No matter what we are experiencing today, this is not the end.

Disappointment, hurt, loss, and struggle do not have the final say in our lives. Jesus died and rose again forever defeating death and the grave. Pain and sorrow have no place in His eternal Kingdom.

As it turned out, that time of training would be far from the hardest challenge I would face in my life. However, getting through that difficult time helped me to see not only what I was capable of, but what God was capable of as well. This truth guided me through some incredibly difficult times both in Haiti and after we returned. 

You might be facing something bleak right now, but don’t lose heart. God can do far more than we could ever ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). By His hand you will make it through to the other side, even if you can’t see the end from where you are right now. 

Can you think of a time that felt incredibly difficult at the moment, but you still got through it? How has walking through such a time shaped who you are today? How did you see God then versus now?