Bring on the obstacles

"If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably isn't leading anywhere." ~Clark

This quote made me pause & think for a minute. As I thought about my most interesting and most exciting journeys in life, it is often the obstacles that made them worthwhile. Whether they made the trip interesting or they gave me the skills I needed to reach the end, it wouldn't have been a fabulous trip without them.

I know that's easy to say once I've already walked that road and handled the obstacles. But if I think about it in the more ordinary aspects of my life I come to the same conclusion. The camping trip where it rained all weekend (how do you make the trip fun and worthwhile in spite of the rain?) The decorating project where the paint goes up on the wall and looks like something unmentionable. The road trip where all the roads are under construction and you begin to wonder if it really is true that "you can't there from here".

These are all things that have happened to me and my family and these are the times that give us the best stories, fondest memories and most inspiration. Seriously, how many family stories do you have about the trip that went perfectly? The ones I hear people tell are about the unexpected and out of the ordinary ~ and how they handled this, overcame the obstacles and created fun in the process.