Have you ever heard the term “A sense of adventure” or “We are off on an adventure”? What exactly does that mean and, more importantly, what does that mean for you? I have long been intrigued by those men and women who pursue the greatest of adventures and often wondered what drives them to do it? Is it a purpose, a lifelong dream, a driven nature that seeks out those possibilities of achievements? Are they looking to fulfill some desire that has been churning in the innermost part of their being?
I suppose there are just as many answers as there are questions, and I for one have always had the questions. You see, I often lack in the “doing” department which has always left me quite disappointed. No, it isn’t that I’ve never tried or sought out adventure, because I have and, yet I am also my own worst enemy telling myself that “I can’t” or “I won’t”. Oh, those words drive a steel spike right through the heart when you’re trying to build up the courage.
How many of us, whether we were younger or even now dream about the Great Escape, (sorry Movie reference there, which is a rather great movie by the way), we desire to expand the horizon and set out to make our way, take a risk or just lay it all on the line. I had big plans when I was younger and many adventures I wanted to undertake. For me it wasn’t a job; although I once longed to either be a professional baseball player or own a ranch. My adventures were usually centered on myself, mountain biking from Canada to Mexico, kayaking down the Colorado River, horseback camping and hunting from Kansas to New Mexico.
Just to fill myself with scenes, the scents and the awe of nature and me “taking it to it”. Alas, my risk-taking never really came to fruition, as everyday mundane life just got in the way. But whose fault is that really? Well mine, of course, because what really stopped me from at least trying? Money, yeah that was part of it but why didn’t I have it? Mostly because I was reckless and didn’t save. Time, that always seems to run short as well, but doesn’t it for everyone? Ultimately it came down to a choice as most things always do. You have a choice to make in every situation of every single day and depending on how you make that choice is going to determine certain outcomes.
So, what is the level of adventure that you are seeking or that I am seeking? Therein lies a good question and you have to ask yourself, one, are you really looking for adventure or are you just comfortable where you are? If you’re longing for adventure, then the question is what kind? What gets your blood pumping and makes you excited?
Now we all know someone who has taken a leap of faith and stepped way outside that comfort zone. I know a few people myself and I can’t help but be amazed at how they just went for it. My friend and pastor Alan and his wife are a couple that took that giant leap, and whatever you want to call it, I call it adventure. Who in their right mind would leave a job and their homeland to plant a church in another country? How does that conversation even begin, let alone the conversation he had to be having with God to say yes to such a request? “Really God, you want me to go where and do what”? To have been inside his head at that moment, wow!! To think that is the same type of conversation that God was having with others that I read about in the Bible. Awestruck is an understatement.
The courage and fortitude that it takes to just jump into that situation, to me, is mind-boggling, but he and his wife Meg aren’t the only ones. There are countless others listening to the same call, “Go to this land and I will make a way for you.” Faith brother, how does one grow such faith?!?! I know God doesn’t call us all to go out and plant churches in other countries, but doesn’t He call us out for Adventure? I know He does, I feel it. Every single day there is a longing, a desire, and a purpose. Some of it is the thrill of seeking a path out in the wilderness or the forest, seeing if I can test my limits and strength and survive in the harsh expanse even if for one night. But there is also sense, that notion of something dangerous that is waiting to be grasped, risky enough that you could be hurt. To me, it is like looking at a craggy mountainside, the kind you look upon and wonder if you could climb it. Oh yes, one slip of your grip and it is all over and you are tumbling head over heels to the bottom. Yet, at the top there is something to be seen, a treasure to grasp and unless you just start climbing you will always wonder what “it” is.
Now each of us has been blessed with longings, escapes, and hunger that God has given, and they are all different from one another just as we are different. That is the beauty of it, the great mixing bowl of life, full of all the ingredients that God has thrown in and mixed up. The spice of life is what some would call it, the richness of all the goodness that has been thrown together and ahhh the wonderful aroma that permeates when it has finished. That is what we are, a beautiful mixture, a baking loaf of bread placed over the hearth of a fireplace, rising gently, filling out the sides of the pan that God has carefully placed like any great baker would do.
Key ingredients each one carefully measured and portioned to create a masterpiece. Maybe there is a generous portion of one and a little less of another and isn’t that okay? The strengths and weaknesses, the talents, the emotions, all rolled into one. Each one is as important as the next and we don’t often think about them or the careful precision that God has put into each of us in His kitchen. I should really be careful here because I might sidetrack and start talking about food as much as I think about it! That is a subject for another time though. No, today is about adventure and what God has called us to. Yes, your adventure is different from mine and maybe that is where we begin. With a small adventure just to kick the rust off, loosen up our inhibitions a little so that as we overcome we allow God to prepare us for the next possibly “BIG” adventure.
I don’t know about you, but I know where mine starts. It is in the woods. I’ve felt God tug me in that direction and when I’m there I feel a closeness to Him that I can’t explain. He is sharing something so simple yet so grand and I have Him all to myself out there, or maybe He has me all to Himself? It is there I will first start to look for a few answers as well as learn a little more about myself and what I’m made of. My prayer will be that God begins to prepare me for the next great adventure.
How about you?
