I know, from listening to other women, we have a hard time connecting with God’s invitation to adventure. After all, we are delicate females, not burly males. We are planners and nurturers to the core. Our instinct to create a safe and soft place for others to land in our heart and in our home.
We are the nest-makers, we aren’t the ones who take flight, we stay put and cozy inside our four walls.
And I might add, regarding the outdoorsy, nature side of adventure that most of us think of, we know we are unskilled in starting fires under the stars, pitching a tent on our own, or getting excited about hiking down a trail in the company of snakes and bears.
We automatically assume – adventure is not for me.
We thrive in our routines. If we really admit it, we seek solace through the mundane of caring for our children, cleaning house, running errands, making dinner every night, putting on our make-up, or going shopping. We are equipped and know what to expect in all these scenarios.
But what if, as women, we are shaped for a unique adventure with God? Could we take the time to hear His definition of adventure for us in our season?
Could we let all our misgivings about the mystery of following Jesus and moving with Him more spontaneously be swallowed up as we gaze into His face and catch the sparks of love in His eyes?
A thrilling, breathtaking, interesting life isn’t only for the adrenaline junkies, brave souls, curious children, or people with money and time, but for you too!
YOU WEREN’T MEANT TO PLAY IT SAFE.
If we can just tiptoe beyond the ledge of our qualms of adventure (a practice I have to partake in every day), we can start to hear His quiet voice wooing us into romance and intimacy. Yes, He may be delivering invitations to embrace risk, to welcome what feels dangerous to us, and to grip more tightly to an untamed trust, but it all comes from His good, good heart towards US, towards YOU.
I’ll be the first to say He often starts with the path beneath our feet, within the tiny details of our day, like trying a different recipe, making a new friend, cutting our hair, or flying on a plane.
But.He.Doesn’t.Stop.There.
Our adventure continues to unfold, often rapidly, as we learn to savor His heart and bravely accept our place in the world, give a voice to the crazy hunger and hope bubbling up from within, and start to feed off our childlike faith which rebels against formulas and rules and boredom.
We might be women with tender, protective hearts, with a passion to cultivate spaces of warmth and nourishment for growth and belonging, BUT this I know more than anything: we are not meant to play it safe. We were created to leap off the ledge and be caught by Love.
IT’S IN YOU.
Last weekend, we did a family hike. It was 2.2 miles and 1000 feet elevation gain with three kids under five (obviously, we weren’t thinking clearly!). The terrain consisted of a gradual, sometimes steep, incline the entire way up to a serene mountain lake. It felt like days until we reached the top. I’m not sure what was the grander achievement- getting there with our sanity in tact or the endless encouragement it took to keep them moving forward without any whining or giving up.
On the way, I chatted with my almost four-year old daughter about how much I love being out in nature, enjoying God’s creation, and going for hikes in the woods with Him, and how adventures like this resemble much of life. She listened intently as I shared parts of who I was that stretched beyond just being her mom.
After I was done, she smiled, her eyes a lit up with a look of understanding, “I love hiking too mommy!” From that point on she was different, beaming. I noticed how she kept watching me, searching for clues on how to walk up the mountain with joy, find beauty along the way, and discover strength to keep going.
DON’T SETTLE.
Whether you recognize it or not, there is a woman inside of you ready to scale mountains, find rest in the valleys, climb over insurmountable obstacles, explore uncharted parts of your heart, and have more than mere crumbs of joy through it all.
You are a woman with an undeniable desire for adventure, to trek into the spacious, wilderness of God’s beauty and freedom.
You have a calling to be a gentle guide to others into this untamed openness, where we surrender are obsession with certainty and gain a sweetly secret romance with Jesus along the way.
We are women who hear the invitation and extend it to others, “Come, let’s follow Him…there’s more of His heart yet to be discovered!”
Every day, the choice is ours, and of course He will hold us close whatever we decide.
Will we listen to our innate longing for an adventure with Him, or will be head back down the mountain, moments before He reveals another layer of His love?
I am going to be the friend who calls you higher today. Don’t settle, sweet sister, you were made for this.
“Be sure to never let your life go flat. Always know that God is calling you to ever greater things.”
Henri Nouwen
“Somewhere , I started to play things safe. I started to fall back on tried, tired methods of doing things and stopped asking God each day whether I should fight or not fight, go up or go down. I got formulaic in my thinking. I got hidebound in my routines.”
Mark Buchanan
Verses to Ponder: Psalm 27:8, Hosea 2:14-15, Ephesians 3:16-17
Ready for adventure this summer? Grab a few women in your life and write and talk your way through the Sacred Adventures: A Travel Journal for Your Soul together! Or maybe you need to be reminded of the romance in store for you as you whisper a timid yes to His invitation to adventure in this new season. Check out the My Beloved Love Letters journal in the shop that we created just for that purpose!
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