I love facing challenges that stretch me beyond what I expect… especially when they take me to arenas where others have never fought.  So when I talk about the advantages of living in a tent, please don’t feel bad for me!  Each objective pushes me to be free of mindsets and modern conveniences most cannot live without. 

If I remain bold over time, I learn from my failures and successes. And what I learn can help prepare God’s servants to live in places that are unbelievably difficult to get to.

Winter in a camper: Not what I expected

Nine months ago, God provided a camper for me to live in.  What a wonderful blessing it has been to call this place home!  It’s just the right size for me: not too big, not too small.

I expected to live in the camper through the Maine winter. So I made preparations for the cooler weather. This included buying long underwear, a ceramic space heater and an induction cooktop.

Things started off really well. Yet, the winter got colder and colder. I sort of realized things might not go as I would expect.  Instead, there might come a time where the camper might get so cold, I wouldn’t be able to stay warm enough in it, no matter how hard I tried.  However, as November was ending, I didn’t see any way to avoid what was coming.  As I saw it, I had no choice but to face this head on.

The blessing I didn’t expect

That’s when God surprised me with a blessing I did not expect.

A friend mentioned in passing that he knew of a vacation cabin beside a pond. If I wanted to, he would see if the owner would let me spend the winter there.

I looked at it. This offer seemed too good be true!

So many thoughts raced through my mind:

• “How can I afford this?”
• “After talking so bravely about wintering in the camper, would I be seen as a wimp if I took this offer?”
• “Is this a waste of money?”

So I prayed about it.

And then I realized, the reason I lived in the camper was not what I would expect.

I wasn’t living in a camper to show off my endurance and impress people, or to show off how much I could handle.

The moment God offered me His grace

Until that moment, I lived in the camper because it was the best opportunity available to me to provide for my family. And then, God offered me His grace through a friend. I then had an opportunity to receive it, or refuse it.

When grace comes our way, when our loving Heavenly Father provides what we didn’t expect, we must not refuse it. It’s just not smart! This is especially true of His Good News of salvation.

With time, I discovered that this opportunity might have saved my life. For as winter wore on, the temperature dropped to minus -25°F (-32°C). Such days were not easy – but they were far, far easier than they would have been, had I stubbornly chosen to stay in the camper!

For me, serving and providing for my family is the goal. Sometimes in the process of pushing toward a goal, I must go through difficult things.

But whenever I suffer to show off, I’m just a stubborn fool.

Is God offering His kindness and grace to you in this season, and you want to talk about it? If so, let us know about it in the comments below, or contact me directly.