The Ability to Move Ahead

Where did the time go?  Have a I really been home from the World Race for six months?  Was I really in Africa this time last year?  

While eating dinner the other night at a restaurant, it hit me how I don’t think twice about ordering off a menu I can read from a waitress I can understand.  

Each month of the Race was like Readjustment 101.  We could shake off jetlag, adopt a new currency conversion, and learn “hello,” “goodbye,” and “thank you” in a new language every 30 days or so.  How quickly we adapted.  And how quickly life at home can return to normal.  

Oh, if only it was normal.  Now I face a new challenge.  Now I have to decide what to do with this person who came home changed.  

I think God is in the business of moving people forward.  I think the reason He takes us to the mountaintops is so we can glimpse the next peak we are to climb.  We’re tired and sweaty and just want to be on level ground again, but He says, “Look over there.  That’s where we’re going next.”  

I’ve struggled with anxiety for most of my life, and I’ve had overwhelming senses of fear and dread lately at the thought of what might be next.  There are days I live with extreme passion, and there are days where I am paralyzed with the thought of not fitting into the mold.  I believe the latter happens when I am weak, and my heart is just a little too accessible to the Evil One’s lies.

Fortunately, God in not in the business of calling us to security.  For where there is security, there is no faith.  And that’s the last mountain I want to be on.  

So I climb! 

I totally wrote this blog WITHOUT rock climbing in mind.  It just so happened that I had my first rock climbing experience this past weekend! 

Here are some fun facts about me and rock climbing.

Why I did NOT want to go rock climbing:

1)  I'm afraid of heights.

2)  Unlike some people, I don't really desire to climb tall rocks. 

3)  I don't trust my life to a rope.

4) I don't always have the best coordination.  This has led me away from most sports and athletic activities in life.   Which is why I run.  Straight ahead; no contact with others. It works for me. 

Why I WENT rock climbing:

1)  I need to step out of my comfort zone on a regular basis. 

2)  I need to conquer irrational fears.  If I can bite something off a fried snake in Cambodia and slit a chicken's throat in Mozambique, climbing a mountain should be nothing. 

3)  I wanted to get out and meet people. 

Anyway, I had fun.  And I'm proud that I did it.  Hmm, what's next. . . I'm thinking it either involves a kayak or some bagpipes. . .