Life is an Adventure

Lately I have been thinking about what it means to have an adventure. I mean in a personal sense, something that you or I experience. What is it that sets an adventure apart, what makes it special?

Much of what we think, do, say, or get excited about comes from and is influenced by the literature we read. I deem this to be true of everybody in one way or another and I believe it can play an important part in our lives, which is why we must choose wisely what literature we spend our time reading. For my family and I some of the most influential books have been stories of adventure. Whether they be historical fiction like Henty, fantasy and legend like Tolkien or Lawhead, or non-fiction like Endurance by Alfred Lansing or Practicing: a musician’s return to music by Glenn Kurtz. Stories of adventure are inspiring. They expand our horizons, fill our hearts and show us that there is more to living than just making it through another day. The same thing happens in the movies we watch, movies like Pride and Prejudice, Gladiator, or Lord of the Rings. Such stories give us a desire to rise above mediocrity, to move beyond ourselves and to say with Sam Gamgee, “There is some good left in this world Mr. Frodo, and its worth fightin’ for!”

This is all well and good, and if not absolutely necessary then at least very beneficial; but do we ever take the time to go deeper? We can come away from these stories wishing that our lives held more adventure, but how seldom we come away realizing that our lives are an adventure. We think about how thrilling it would be to take the place of the hero in such a tale, but in doing this we miss what is perhaps the most potent and powerful truth they contain. When we read the story of their adventures we don’t read of an isolated experience; we read the story of their lives. It is not so much the circumstances they are set in that effect us so, although that is often what comes first to our mind. Rather it is the way the characters respond to the situations in which they are placed.

This is truly what makes for a good story. It is what raises their lives above the mundane and makes them an adventure. And the same is true for us. If we think about our lives as common, even boring that is what they will be; for our thoughts will determine our actions. If, on the other hand, we are willing to make the most of every moment we are given, then we will be able to live life to its fullest. This is one thing I have always admired about Tasha Tudor. Although she is not a Christian, she has made a conscious decision to think about life as an adventure, to take joy in every situation that comes her way.

Sometimes, however, our lives seem like anything but an adventure. We often look at them and see only one trial after another. We think of our financial struggles, the loss of good friends, disappointed hopes, missed opportunities, or the loss of our health through struggles with dis-ease and infirmity, and feel we could really use an adventure or two to brighten up our cloudy skies. Once again, we have missed the truth that makes these stories so memorable and inspiring. In them, our heroes are people who have been thrust into difficult, painful, and often terrifying circumstances. The reality of their experience is often cruel and disheartening, even for those who, like Frodo Baggins, started out on their journey wanting to have an adventure. I think of the time when he said, “I wish the Ring had never come to me, I wish none of this had ever happened.” We would all do well to remember Gandalf’s response. “So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide, all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.” What an amazing statement! I know it is just a story, but if we are comfortable using it as the metaphor that Tolkien intended, it is an excellent reminder that God is in control of our lives and that instead of bemoaning our circumstances we ought to recognize them for what they are: opportunities to rise above our difficulties and make a difference in our lives and in the lives of others.

For much of my life I have struggled with less than perfect health. Almost three years ago the situation became very serious, requiring many trips to the ER and eventually two emergency surgeries. After being dragged through the terror of modern medicine, my family and I were desperate to find some alternative by which we could restore order and balance to our lives. After much praying and searching the Lord led us to a diet based largely upon the principles of Scripture and the research of a few sincere people who had dedicated their lives to healing my kind of dis-ease through natural and dietary methods. The one problem we saw with it at the time was that it was going to require us to make some major changes to our lives. We would have to change our approach to food, the activities we participated in and even the friends we associated with. In short, we had to change our entire lives. At first, it was easy for me to fall into the trap of saying, “I wish none of this had ever happened.” Nevertheless, as time has rolled by I have come to see the hand of God clearly working through these circumstances as He has sovereignly drawn my family and I to the path along which He has purposed for us to walk. I cannot pretend that it has been easy, and I can truly echo Frodo when he said, “How do you pick up the threads of an old life, when in your heart you begin to understand; there is no going back. There are some things that time cannot mend; some hurts that go too deep, that have taken hold.” However, as I look back over all He has brought me through I can say that I would not trade it for all the world. This is often how it is in our lives. Through His divine providence, God seldom chooses to reveal all that the future will hold, because He knows our strength: that it is not sufficient for both the adventures of today, and those of tomorrow. One thing, however, is certain and one thing we know for sure. Those of us who have been “there and back again” will never be the same. Adventures change us. Journeys challenge us. Quests define us, wound us and reshape us. In the end we will all be able to say like Frodo did as he was “Homeward Bound.” “Though I may come to the Shire, it will not seem the same; for I shall not be the same.”

I now face another bend in the Road, and though my feet may feel weary from the journey, I know that my adventure is not yet finished. Over the past four months or so, I have learned that I am still bleeding slowly through my intestines. In fact, my blood count had dropped to a very dangerous level and required two blood transfusions to bring it back up to one that was safe. Now, however, I am better equipped to trust God to work all things for my good and the good of those whom I love. Indeed, His guiding hand can already be seen, and this time I am prepared to say with Bilbo when he was at the Grey Havens, “I think I am ready for another adventure!”

The Road goes ever, ever on,
Down from the Door where it began,
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow if I can,
Pursuing it with weary feet,
Until it joins some larger way,
Where many paths and errands meet.
And wither then? I cannot say.

Still round the corner there may wait
A new road or a secret gate;
And though I oft have passed them by,
A day will come at last when I
Shall take the hidden paths that run
West of the Moon, East of the Sun.
                                        Frodo Baggins.

Tyler