It's an Adventure

Do you remember the part of The Lord of the Rings where Frodo and company walk through the woods on their journey, chat about random things all day, make it pretty far, and go to bed that night? Or how about the story of Tom Brady throwing footballs in his back yard with some friends for hours? Actually let me tell you about when I was in college (makes me feel old saying that) and I stayed up until 2am (or later) to finish a homework assignment. The reality is, none of us care about these moments, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t necessary.

Recently I have been overwhelmed with a desire for adventure. I want to satisfy it but I don’t exactly know what to do. I want to go climb a mountain, but in case you were unaware, there aren’t many mountains around Fort Worth. But God told me to live here. So what am I to do? Quick my job and move to Colorado or stay here? Follow God or follow this longing that I think God put inside of me? The answer – yes.

What I’ve come to realize is we can’t go on an adventure without the “dull” moments. Every story has these awesome moments of going through challenges or having breakthroughs or getting revelation, but every story also requires not as high moments. Frodo had some crazy adventures, but I’m sure there had to be some slower moments (and I’m sure he was thankful for them). Tom Brady (disregard any dislike of Tom Brady for the sake of my point) would have never won a super bowl if he had never practiced throwing a football as a kid. I wouldn’t have been offered my first internship in Seattle where I did get to climb a bunch of mountains without staying up late to finish homework. I wouldn’t even be at my current job without doing all of that. Even when you go on a hike you don’t (at least not usually) start at the top. The slow moments are important. They are necessary although they are not as exciting.

My Kayak and Baby Fish

Graduating from Texas A&M I could have worked my way into just about anywhere in the country (except College Station because I tried). I could have gone to Houston and been closer to friends and family and probably made more money. I could have gone to White Salmon, WA, or Raleigh, NC and enjoyed the mountains and have a really cool job. I could have gone to Orlando, FL and been at the beach. But I felt like God told me to move to Fort Worth, TX because He had an adventure for me here. So that’s what I did. It doesn’t make a lot of sense in my own eyes, but God has a better adventure for me than what I can make up. And what have I done up here? I’ve made some friends. I go to work. I attend LifeGroup and church. I guess I do take occasional business trips to California, but it’s mostly pretty plain. I do have a kayak so that’s pretty cool. God told me He would teach me how to fish up here (spiritually that is) and yet I haven’t led anyone in Fort Worth to Jesus. But I believe that God is faithful and that I’m on His adventure whether it feels like it or not.    

Fort Worth LifeGroup

So what’s my point? My point is you’re on an adventure. Although it may not feel like an adventure, you’re still on one. The Creator of the Universe has made you an integral part of his divine plan in an epic adventure in the greatest story that could ever be imagined. Step into it, and do it with the people around you. When you get to a nice comfortable area, don’t set up camp but keep walking. When you see a patch of woods don’t immediately jump off the path and sprint towards them in desperation. Whether you like the more dull areas or you despise them, God has a purpose for them. Jesus didn’t even start his ministry until He was 30 years old. I’m sure he wasn’t sitting at home as a teenager building a chair or something all upset that he wasn’t doing something more exciting. He knew He was just getting ready.  

God has an adventure for you and it never goes stale. There will be mountains and plains, but in the end it all matters that you’re heading towards the right destination. The key is keep your eyes ahead and focus on the goal rather than on your current situation because you never know what’s just around the bend.

So some additional notes: There is nothing wrong with moving to a place where you can go hiking and do crazy fun outdoor adventure things as long as that’s where God has you. Going into His creation or doing some other random exiting thing teaches us about God and it is good. I wish I were writing all of this from the top of a mountain right now. But in my thinking of all this adventure stuff over the past few weeks, I did decide to make a bucket list because why not. Some things on there are kind of ridiculous, but it is a bucket list after all. You can find my bucket list here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1j7KOgwPPfSb_z23hjYOTP-_bLlpEABjTQ7mnCF4RoSg/edit?usp=sharing
Please feel free to read it, add items to it (include your name if you do), and if you want to join me on any of these adventures let me know. I’m free most weekends if you plan ahead and I have no intentions on living adventure alone.