Jan 24, 2013

The Spirit of Adventure.

My granddaughter Fallon likes to take walks on her family land, road, woods, and the surrounding farmland. She especially loves to go on “adventures” as she calls them. What she is referring to are some small paths through the woods at the end of the long driveway that goes from the main road to her parents’ house. Whys she calls them “adventures” none of us knows.

A month or so ago on a Saturday, Cathy and I babysat her and her brother Gavin at their house and Fallon wanted to “go on adventures”; and so Fallon and I did. We set out down the long driveway until we came to the spot where adventures start.


As we walked the narrow paths through the trees, we discovered things like an old barrel, a small tractor, an old shed, a pile of junk, and a box full of skateboards. We also followed a small bunny and birds that went from tree to tree.

We looked, pointed, smelled, touched, and named everything that crossed our paths as we took our adventure; well most things, I had also discovered the carcass of a deer but neglected to point it out to her.

We spent about one hour on our walk until she eventually asked me to hold her. I picked her up into my arms; she put her head of my shoulder as she held me tightly, and quickly went to sleep. A fitting end to our adventure which turned out to be a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon

Do you like adventures? They can be fun if your mind is set on seeking and discovering new things.

ad·ven·ture means:  An exciting or very unusual experience. Participation in exciting undertakings or enterprises. A bold, usually risky undertaking; hazardous action of uncertain outcome.  A commercial or financial speculation of any kind; venture. Obsolete, peril; danger; risk, chance; fortune; luck to risk or hazard. It means to take the chance of; dare.

How about you; do you like to take risks? They sound good on paper, but when you push off and leave the shore the real fun begins. Adventures don’t always have guarantees or scripts.

What happens when it takes awhile to get “there”; when the dream isn’t fulfilled right away? Do you press on or do you give up?

God told a man named Abram to set out on an adventure, to a place he had not been to, to discover his destiny. Today, we know this man by the new name that God eventually gave him; “Abraham”. Genesis chapter 12 records:

“Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:1-3)

And do you know what; he did it! He stepped out and did on the grand adventure God set before him. The book of Hebrews tells us:

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” (Hebrews 11: 8-10)
 
This new year ahead of us can give us ample opportunities to go on adventures; to discover new people, and friends, and places. Let God take you where He wants you to go. He is always thinking from a heart that loves. Let’s set our child-like heart to step out, shove off to face whatever new adventures come our way knowing that His plans are for good; oh how He loves us so!

"Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved."

 

 

 

 

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