I just returned from a WILD Campout, & it was life-changing for me!

We had a moment at the Women’s Winter Campout in January where we reflected on where we were spiritually and I’d like to share that with you. Maybe you could share what season you’re in with a close and trusted friend and pray over each other like we did the past weekend.

*What season do you find yourself in?*

**Spring:** a season of renewal, growth, & hope even in uncertainty
**Summer:** a season of sweetness, joy, contentment, & closeness with the Lord
**Fall:** a season of change, even loss, & unknowns
**Winter:** a season of hibernation, possible grief or sadness, or feeling generally disconnected from the Lord; cold & lonely

Camping as a Catalyst

Catalyst (n.): a person or thing that precipitates (causes) an event.

The Women’s Winter Campout served as exactly that for me, a catalyst.

But before I go there, you need to know what led me to where I was.

A year and a half ago…

My husband and I left a job we thought we would retire from in Illinois. We moved 1,012 miles away from our home in Texas and thought it was going to be permanent, all to find out that God only had us there for a season.

You see, I’ve been in ministry for over a decade, and the last two ministry positions that I held have been hard. Really hard. It slowly chipped away at me until I was nothing but a tree without any leaves.

**I would go unnoticed** — a leaf falls off.
**I’m communicated to unfairly**— more leaves fall off.
**I’m left out of events** — another couple of leaves gone.
**I’m spoken to unkindly** — more leaves fall.
**I’m taken for granted** — there goes another.
**I’m told I’m too hard to get along with** — there goes a whole branch worth of leaves.

I can hear some of you now, “Les, it sounds like you were finding your identity in others and not Jesus…” and my friend, you would be so correct. But it was where I was.

At the end of those past four years, I was left with nothing but a bare tree — lifeless and alone.

We moved back to Texas and I was a recluse, isolating, and a shell of who God created me to be.

I didn’t hear from the Lord, the Word held nothing for me, and I had a disdain for my fellow gospel-mates. I wanted nothing of the Lord or anything He called me to. I was done.

But God wasn’t done with me.

For the last three months, I’ve been back in the Word, trying to pray, and dabbling in community but all to no avail. It wasn’t working. I had started to believe the lie that I was too far gone, too broken for the Lord to bother with.