Posted by: Anna I just got home yesterday after almost twenty-four hours of driving, that brought me all the way from Tennessee back here to South Dakota. And what was I doing in Tennessee? I was at ASAP. For those of you who don't know, ASAP is a TeenPact alumni event (and if you don't know about TeenPact, click on the "Where to Give" page and find out about it there). I've attended TeenPact Survival three times, but this year, I was talked into going to the Advanced Survival Adventure Program- aka ASAP. At Survival, we pretty much just learn about Survival, and don't actually do any surviving. The same could technically be said about ASAP. . . though I must say that with me being as spoiled as I am, it was practically survival. We slept outside in shelters we'd built out of all natural materials, we made all of our food over fires, we had no indoor plumbing except for the single toilet and sink us girls all shared (and that only worked half the time due to a water shortage). So yeah, to me, it might as well of been a survival situation. Especially since it was in Tennessee, lending to far more bugs and thorns and humidity and moisture than I'm used to. And for those of you who don't really know me. . . I'm a wimp. I love to hike, bike, climb, wade in creeks, etc. . . but I do not love to camp, or live right outside with the bugs, or just in general to go without showers and warmth and everyday comforts. So it was only by some serious persuasion from my friends that I went to ASAP. And even then, I went pretty reluctantly. Monday afternoon finds us at ASAP. By Monday evening, I'm totally regretting my decision to come. It was the first time I'd ever been that far away from home. And, it was also the first time I'd been that far from home and not had any of my family members with me. Between that and me not being the type of person that enjoys traveling, I was in for some major homesickness. Then I got a look at what sleeping arrangements would be like for the night. . . it didn't help. I already knew we'd be sleeping outside, but something about actually seeing just how very outside it was turned out to be pretty discouraging. So I spent the night contemplating what it would take for me to be able to go home early. Could I sprain my ankle, and my parents would be willing to come get me? Not very reasonable I know, but it was what was going through my head. Tuesday, I determine to just get through the week. It's only a few days, really- I can do it. As this is happening, I start having a nagging thought. Just about every time someone prayed, they thanked God for the opportunity to be out in His creation with fellow believers at ASAP. As I continually heard people expressing gratitude for being there, I realized what God was saying: While I'm over there whining and complaining, He'd laid out a wonderful week full of unique opportunities, in His beautiful creation and surrounded by my brothers and sisters in Christ. Wednesday comes along. Like at Survival, we have quiet time each morning. So in my quiet time, I decided not to just make it through the week, but to make the most of it. I told myself to be open to whatever good there was to be had, and to keep a positive mindset. And it worked wonders. Seriously. I went from wishing I could get injured so that I'd have to go home to enjoying each and every moment (okay, so there were certain moments where I was wet and cold and uncomfortable in the middle of the night that I didn't necessarily enjoy ;) ) of each and every day. By Thursday's quiet time, I was determined not just to find the good in the week, but also to find the good in the bad. And now I can say, the entire thing was good. All the discomfort ended up helping to make the week the amazing experience it was. One of the points some of my friends made when arguing why I should go to ASAP was the element of getting out of your comfort zone. We'd all read Do Hard Things, which talks about the importance of getting out of your comfort zone and therefore doing hard things. Now when my friends said that, I was pretty skeptical. The way I saw it, it was beneficial to get out of your comfort zone in order to, say, evangelize or reach out to an outsider or something like that. But to be literally, physically outside of your comfort zone? I didn't believe that would do much for my faith. But it did. It gave me a greater reliance on God. It showed me the importance of having a positive mindset and being open to the good in a "bad" situation. It gave me a new gratitude for things I used to take for granted, like hot showers and comfortable beds. (Hey. It may have just been a week, but let me tell you- we were all seriously missing such luxuries by the end of it) To sum it all up: I wanted to write this post to share what I'd learned about the power of a positive mindset. And that is that if you're open to it, God can use any situation--even one where you're wet and cold and homesick and reluctant--to bring about good in your life. In fact, I think that's why He puts us in those circumstances in the first place. If I hadn't gone to ASAP, I would have missed out on so much growth and learning, as well as fun and friendship. So getting out of your comfort zone and skipping out on showering for a week while sleeping outside really is an opportunity for God to work. Because you know what? By stepping outside of that comfort zone, you enlarge it. Now, next time I'm faced with a situation similar to what I faced in ASAP, it'll be a lot easier- making it so that I can step out even further. There's a lot of things I learned from this past week, and I'll probably write at least one more post that includes some of them. But I think the biggest was learning to be open to whatever God has for me, and finding the good in the bad and making the most of those opportunities, rather than avoiding them. In other words, getting out of that comfort zone, and keeping a positive, open attitude no matter where that leads you. "A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." -Proverbs 17:22 ESV
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