Let’s go on an adventure.

 “It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.”

~ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

Do you ever look at your life like it’s an adventure?  What would life look like if you did?

…

Honesty moment: I have been known to go on a hike and pretend to be a Lord of the Rings elven scout.  My quirks aside – my hike took on a new life.  There was an edge of excitement, and even the woods began to look different.

Adventure is a mindset.  It can change how we view the mundane moments and the wilderness seasons.  When I think of adventure, I think of it in stages.  As we prepare for an adventure and walk out the door, we may feel excited and nervous.  There may be butterflies in our stomachs as we step into something new.  We might realize there will be dangerous or difficult times, but we can ignore it because that’s not reality yet.

The adventure continues, and we may be excited as we discover new things and try new experiences.  Soon enough, we will begin to experience the discomfort of unfamiliarity. We may want to return home and our normal creature comforts.

However, we’ve committed to our journey, so we push through the discomfort and keep going.  The journey we’re on continues to throw new experiences, people, and perspectives our way.  We experience challenges that change and grow us.  And we keep pushing through.

Eventually, we come to the end of our journey and return home.  There's relief because we are among the familiar but, perhaps, a tinge of sadness.  As much as we missed the familiarity of home, we realize that we now miss the challenge of adventure.

At this point, we take the time to assimilate what we learned about the world, others, and ourselves.  We adjust to accommodate the new you to old, familiar surroundings.  Then we start to plan our next adventure because despite the discomfort and hardship – we never felt more alive.

…

What in your life do you need to view as an adventure?  

I am quickly coming up on a new season of my life, and I am praying that I view this season through the lens of adventure not through a lens of fear.  

What might be going on in your own life right now that God is using to change and grow you?  How could you view this season differently?  How might it change your perspective and also your life?

“A person’s heart plans his way,
but the Lord determines his steps.”

~Proverbs 16:9