Who loves camping?

You do?

That’s great!

I however, don’t love camping.

And here’s why.

Years ago my then boyfriend, now husband finally convinced me to go camping with him.

So we set off to a seaside town, where he had many fond memories from his childhood of camping with his family.

How nice.

We found a site and parked up ready to pitch our tent.

Firstly, the tent/caravan site was practically on the edge of a steep cliff and secondly, it had to be one of the windiest spots in the whole of Britain.

Of course being a girl who had never gone camping before, I didn’t know how to pitch a tent. I had mentioned this prior to going away, but it seemed to fall on ‘deaf ears.’

There was no suggestion that we could ‘practice’ in the backyard before going away.

That would be a crazy idea.

So out came the tent, the tarp, the hammer, the pegs and by some wave of a magical wand, I was going to know exactly where to put what, and hey presto – a pitched tent!

Eh, not exactly.

Instead, it was a complete disaster.

Did you catch those two words?

Complete. Disaster.

Apart from not having the first clue on how to pitch a tent and being of “no help what – so- ever” (as I recall from memory.) The wind was so strong it nearly blew our tent over the cliff.

And to make it a really memorable experience, all the people who were nice and warm in their caravans sat laughing at us.

I mean hysterically laughing at us.

Needless to say, the half put up, severely wind damaged tent was stuffed un – ceremonially into the backseat of the car. My then boyfriend, now husband was swearing like a Sailor, which of course he was, (Petty Officer in Her Majesty’s Royal Navy, if you please)

I’ll give you another two words.

Never. Again.

My husband is constantly reminded (by me) of that story and he now knows I will only sleep ‘under the stars’ if there’s at least 5 of them.

We had certainly picked the wrong site to pitch our tent.

Pitching your tent on the wrong site.

In Genesis 13 we read about another guy who picked the wrong site to pitch his tent.

His name was Lot and he was related to Abram. (Later, God changed his name to Abraham)

Lot’s herdsmen didn’t get along with Abram’s herdsmen, so Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren. Is not the whole land before you? (Genesis 13:8-9)

Now here’s the kicker.

Abram says to Lot, “Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.”

Lot’s mistake was that he separated himself from Abram and pitched his tent in the wrong town and with the wrong crowd.

Lot decided to pitch his tent in Sodom but the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord. (Genesis 13:13)

It seems to me that Abram was a good mentor for Lot, but as soon as they separated, Lot got into trouble.

Where have you pitched your tent?

Is it with a person who can help you, or have you pitched somewhere away from good people and now you find yourself in a lot of trouble?

Have you found that people look at your compact bag you carry your tent in with suspicion, and they’ve decided that they don’t want the arduous task of ‘unpacking’ you?

Or have you found a site to pitch your tent, only to discover that it’s littered with animal droppings, sticks and stones or tree roots and branches that can jab you painfully in the ribs while you’re trying to get comfortable?

Because you need to find a ‘sweet spot’ when pitching your tent.

You need to look for someone who will invest their time in you and who will weather the storms of life with you.

And when the flies and insects try to get into your tent, they are there to help you put up the nets to keep you safe.

They will be the ones who cheer you on and stay the course when all you want to do is pack up your tent and go home.

Proverbs 27:17 says; ‘As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.’

Take a good look around you before pitching your tent.

And listen to the people who have stories to tell you of how they pitched their tents in the wrong place and ended up in trouble.

They will teach you some specific instructions on to how to set up your tent on the right site.

And then you will enjoy your adventure.

Anyone for a toasted marshmallow?

Wendy xo