:: In.a.Mirror.Dimly ::

We arrived at Prince Edward Island with the threat of rain looming. After eating some fantastic muscles at Crabby’s near the ferry dock, we set off for the National Park campground in Cavendish.

Then the rain started.

Sometimes it sprinkled a little, but other times it fell in huge, heavy, downpours. When we arrived at the campground it didn’t seem to slow down at all. We drove around looking for a site that didn’t have too much standing water, grabbed our tarp, and then got wet.

When I say that we got wet, I’m not talking about a wet spot here and there. I’m saying we were soaked through rain jackets right to our clothes. My shoes squished and water ran down my head in huge drops as we tossed our rope through tree branches, fought scrubby pine trees, and hauled our tarp up. Here’s a picture of our camp site a few days later so you can admire the tarp:

After setting up our tarp, we still had to set up our tent and haul stuff into it while the rain poured. Oh, and then we had to walk over to the bathroom in the pouring rain. I fished out my umbrella from the car just to keep myself dry while walking back to the tent.

While our drenching was somewhat dramatic, it’s not like we did anything all that wild or dangerous. We just got wet in the rain. And yet, I tend to avoid the rain whenever it falls. I’m rarely ever in danger of getting quite so wet, and yet I often think of leaving our garden once the rain starts to fall.

Perhaps I’m more concerned with finding an excuse to stop weeding rather than actually avoiding the rain.

And so I have found that after facing such an extreme situation, I have a higher tolerance for rain and being wet. I don’t expect to be quite that wet in the near future, but if it happens, I know that I won’t melt away.

I like how facing a challenging situation expands our boundaries a bit, even if it’s something small like staying out in the rain. Facing challenges help us grow as they stretch us and expand the range of possibilities for our lives.

We may not ever have to face the same extreme challenge again, but we will be prepared to handle far more than we would have thought possible.