Jet Lag Camping

I recently returned from a two-week vacation in France and realized I had promised to take ten boys from my church on an overnight horse pack trip the very next day. I had a full plate and was battling jet lag, so I desperately wanted to cancel -- thankfully, I didn’t. Many of these boys had never ridden a horse, and they loved it. In the grand scheme, it was the most important thing I could have done.

The highlight of the trip was watching one of the adult leaders, Richard, teach the boys “bushcraft,” or wilderness survival. He’s been doing this on other campouts for about a year now. I don’t think he realizes the impact he is having. One of my favorite actors, Denzel Washington, said, “Show me a successful individual, and I’ll show you someone who had real positive influences in his or her life.”

Invest the time to influence and develop others — even when it's inconvenient, no matter the setting. Boys on pack trips or the young manager whose cubicle you’ll pass by later today will appreciate it.