Amidst Changing Seasons

Wow, what a crazy and unexpected adventure life can be. I am back in the states now, and it is amazing to be around people that I love. I realize that most people that were keeping up with the blog won't be reading this anymore, and that's fine, but I intend the keep writing my thoughts and life lessons of the adventure of living life in Christ. While it might not sound as crazy as living on ice, climbing big peaks, sea kayaking, or picking fruit off wild trees please don't be fooled- it certainly is. The adventure of living life side by side with God is a race of sweat and tears but one that brings unimaginable joy. It's so much easier to go see the world for a time on a wild vacation or work trip intending to return home and "see what's next", but the adventure lies in being found amidst the story of a God that has wilder (and often tougher) things for us than we could ever imagine. About eight months ago I met a man in a coffee shop who calmly asked me if I might be interested in working in Antarctica. From there the adventure took off clearly as something from God, not from me. I have discovered a few huge things during this time away that have changed my life. Number one. Take the wildest dream you can think of... God can think of much bigger. For some people that is marriage, for some missionary work, for others that is working in a business around amazing people. Don't limit God. Number two. Community is the glue that life is made of. Some of the lonliest people I've ever met are travelling the world, running from something, and "living the dream" that we might all like to get a piece of. They're not happy because they are not pouring into people and taking on the adventure of doing life together. All the beauty I have seen in the world cannot compare to the relationships I have with my God, my family, and my very best friends. Loving people is ALWAYS worth is. Number three. You might never get a chance to see God's greatest gifts if you don't risk anything. For example, while hitch hiking and backpacking across New Zealand I often had NO IDEA where I was going, no idea what the towns ahead would look like, where I would buy food next, or how I would get to the next place after getting dropped off... but it all worked out. My travel buddy and I even lost our map with two weeks to to go. So often I doubt God, "What is next?", I wonder. Or, "Now I'm really at a dead end!", but each time I am able to trust a little bit more that it will work out. One of these days I'm actually going to believe deep in my soul that God is big enough to handle my predicaments. As some of you know I was dating a girl when I left on this adventure. Well, we just broke up a few days ago after six hard, but good, months away. Many of you also know I'm pursuing a youth ministry position right now. Two of my best friends in the world (my brother and sister-in-law) are moving from just down the street all the way across the US. Oh yeah, my housemates and I were informed that our townhome has been purchased, and we will be moving. Life is not easy or comfortable right now. Nothing is set before me, nothing is falling into place, but is God any less good than he was when I was travelling around the world? Is life any less adventurous than it was as I stepped off a plane onto the sea ice on the most remote continent on the earth? NO WAY! The adventure continues and my best friend, my creator, is still next to my side. I like to think of life in chunks, or seasons. Each section of life is a new season that is undoubetdly new, yet strangely familiar. I thank God for an amazing season of life-perhaps it was a winter season full of beautiful snowy days and plenty of stormy and windy ones also. I also wait in expectation for a fall, summer, or spring season of my life that is to come; one that in time might be full of orange/red trees, fireflies in the night air, or the feeling of new life springing up from the dead ground again. I don't know what is next, and that's exactly why it is called an adventure.