Tuesday: paid $800 for dental work that has left me with a constant toothache, drove to Asheville, NC for camp, and upon arriving got immediately whisked away to get ice cream at the Blue Cone and dinner at BWW.
Wednesday: slept in, met more people, sat on the dock all day with the climbing staff, learning how to set anchors and tie bowlines.
Thursday: Left at the crack of dawn for Table Rock, and spent the day at Yellow Wall, learning how to set anchors, do rope rescues, and rappel from above your masterpoint. Came home, missed dinner, and went out to BWW again.
Friday: Left at the crack of dawn again for Table Rock, this time at Devil's Cellar. Spent the day learning to set anchors, do releasable rappels, and how to be professional guides. Missed dinner again, and went to Mellow Mushroom for a ten o'clock dinner.
Saturday: Slept in, went for a long trail run (which turned into a hike for a while because the trail was so steep) took a nap, went to town for coffee at The Drip, made some phone calls to friends, and then went to bed early.
Sunday: Up at the crack of dawn, had breakfast, went to church, rode ponies, and then learned how to roll a kayak. And by learn I mean I managed to get it once and then couldn't do it again before we got stormed out of the lake. Went back to town for coffee, and spent the evening on the porch in a rocking chair, having great conversation with friends.
There have already been some ups and downs. I have been exhausted, crabby and quiet up until this afternoon because I haven't been able to eat anything. I can't have a lot of the food they make in the dining hall, and the staff haven't quite gotten down what I can and can't have. So, for the last few days, I've been going hungry. Not good. I also have been having trouble finding a quiet place to do my quiet time in the mornings. Also not good. I also felt like everyone around me was expecting me to know more about climbing than I really do.
All of those things together made for a really hard few days. I was hungry, exhausted, and self-conscious. I had absolutely no peace, because I was defining my worth by my performance, which wasn't very good. I called a few friends, just needing some encouragement and to be reminded that God is good and faithful. And you know what? He was.
This morning was tough, but I got to eat lunch (yay!) and play in the lake with some friends. I got down a few basics about rolling a kayak, and conquered a bit of my fear about being underwater like that....(I wouldn't have been half as hesitant if I didn't get water up my nose every time I tried.) I went to church and worshiped my heart out, and spent the rest of the evening drinking coffee/tea, sitting in a rocking chair on the porch and talking to an awesome pair of girls about life and God and everything in between.
I am a mess, but God is good and for some odd reason chooses to do good things through me. I like this.
Tomorrow, more staff come and we start staff week (last week was special training for climbers, riders, and kayakers) and then campers come next Sunday.... This is about to get crazy.
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