Adventure means leaving our comfort zone. It can be uncomfortable, but often what is on the other side is the abundant life.
Just before I woke I had a chilling dream. I was running through a banquet hall attempting to elude a man pursing me. I felt sick as I realized there was nowhere else to run and I had to fight. Finding some knives on a nearby table I hurled them at my attacker. He was able to deflect them with plates or large metal bowls which he would in turn launch in my direction. We ended up in hand to hand combat; I was sorely outmatched. He pinned me against a wall where he slowly stab me in the thigh. I suspected that he thought the blow was mortal since it was one of his signature moves. He lowered me to the ground and walked away triumphant.
The scenes changed and it was dusk. Outside in a harvested wheat field, I was leaning against a wooden fence. Wondering if I looked pale or if I would soon lose consciousness I looked down at my feet expecting to see blood, but there wasn’t any. A glimmer of hope sprung up that perhaps my wound just needed to be mended. Birds started singing as I made my way back to the main house and I knew I wasn’t going to die from the stabbing, but I would have the limp for life.
That was when my tweeting birds alarm fully pulled me from my dream.
Adventure
It has taken me a seriously long time to grow into my name.
Emily: industrious, disciplined, striving.
It is difficult for me to stay on task, so striving certainly resonates with me. Somewhat recently I have scratched the surface of being more self-disciplined. This is because two years ago this weekend, my husband got a job that moved our family 600 miles away from my hometown. And stuff. got. real.
I didn’t used to be an adventurer; I stuck with what felt safe. But when we uprooted our family, I had two choices: become a recluse in one of the most densely populated cities in the U.S. or find community.
We hadn’t even begun to settle in our new home when the heavens opened up and dumped three feet of snow. The blizzard gave us the opportunity to meet several of our neighbors while we were out shoveling every two hours. I hadn’t met that many people on any street we’d lived on before! I had a lot of free time on my hands after our kids were in school. Out of my normal comfort zone, but strangely fearless, I signed up for a ladies’ bible study at our new church and met some friends. Life really took off from there.
Leaving What is Safe for Abundant Life
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
Hebrews 10:23, ESV
My dream captured an accurate picture of my life as a Jesus follower. Historically I’ve run from conflict; but some battles I must fight. Usually they’re messy and rarely do you escape without some wounds and lasting scars.
A lot of change has occurred since our move. I took a job in ministry and have developed intimate community. But our family has also incurred some blows from the enemy. At times, I feel like I’ve prayed all the prayers, read all the books, said all the things…and the enemy still advances. So, I turn and fight – expecting the hits Satan thinks will wreck me – confident that my life is in God’s hand.
I turn and fight... confident that my life is in God’s hand. Click To Tweet
What adventures have led you to an abundant life? Let me know in the comments below!
Do you feel like you are striving? Strive to be better, not different!
If you have found this inspiring, share the encouragement…
Adventure of “getting to really know other people” always leads to wonderful surprises or rewards. Though I know this, it is not easy for me to move out of my comfort zone and be OUT GOING to easily do so. I will take this post as encouragement. Thank you.
You do have to step out there and do things that scare you!
Definitely so true! We will come away with some wounds sometimes, but an abundant life is rarely easy or smooth-sailing with no hiccups.
In our 33+ years of marriage, we’ve had many “change” events lead us to a more abundant life, and even though all of them have been adventures, not all of them were all good (at least from the outside). Fortunately, our loving Heavenly Father has been with us at every step and stop, so we could see His abundance displayed.
I had to chuckle at your bio’s statement, “God has a beautiful sense of humor” — so very, very true! 🙂
I SOOOOO NEEDED THIS TONIGHT, it’s crazy!!! Im on my own journey, pursuing the abundant life and truly walking freedom. You are awesome. I love your name too and yes, let’s be adventurous women. Jesus died so we could experience an abundant life. (JN10:10)
Life starts after your comfort zone, something I’ve been trying to remind myself of lately.
I love everything about this! In the end it will always be worth it to go out and live!
Opening up and allowing people into my life knowing that they may be there a long time or just a short while is totally worth it. Yes it’s hard and may involve more than we think we have but God uses it and grows us in the process.
Beautiful and inspiring 🙂
Wow this post is so good. Everything you say is so true. I have lived in three different countries and leaving them was so hard and it felt like the world could end any day. But actually now I realise how good that was for me. And now I crave adventure and I crave getting out of my confort zone. Thanks for sharing this post! 😀
I love the idea of striving to be better not different. I think our culture stresses “different” too much.
I really identify with this! 2 years ago we moved overseas. There were so many challenges, but ultimately the Lord grew us a lot, and we have had to draw closer to Him through it.
I had to leave my family and friends and move across the country almost 2 years ago. God has taught me so much about him since that time. It’s been hard, but worth it. Thanks for sharing your story!
That’s right! Stand firm and fight this good fight. We always have to remember that we are ALREADY victorious, we’ve just got to withstand these jabs from the enemy. Our ultimate goal is always heaven. Also I’m living on this phrase lately…”Praise will confuse the enemy”.
Also, I’m so ready to live the adventure God has for me, I know He’ll equip me for what’s to come.
I’ve also made the move. Internationally! I wouldn’t change it for the world now but boy oh boy it took a while to see the “ abundance” in it. Great post!
I really needed this ! I have recently encountered challenges that in the past I have ran from but now I stand up to them prepared for battle. I now walk away bruised but not broken. God is so faithful.
I know this is about being more daring and trusting God’s path, but I really resonate with the community message here!
It is so important to give yourself the blessing of community. Getting involved in the lives of the people around us is how we learn to love life! It’s how we can learn to love our city, our situations, and our churches. It’s also something I struggle with immensely as an extreme-chronic-introvert. Like, extreme. But if you don’t invest in the people around you, you’re missing out on so much.
Thank you for this reminder that, though it terrifies me, becoming a part of a community is a vital aspect of abundant life. And it’s also part of how God designed us!
My goodness this was like reading my own journal. From the top to the bottom. I married a mil man too (Marines and Army) 14 yr, and am VBS director and Sunday school teacher for the littles. We love adventures now and even the way you described your typical running from conflict, I have dealt with too, boy oh boy. It was nice to be here. I can say it was fresh and unique, and I read many blogs on a regular basis. Keep writing and being you. Have a great week 😉
What a great post and one that makes me think adventure is always out there waiting for me.