This week, I have found myself travelling, something I seem
to find myself doing quite often. Usually, when I go places, I like to take my
adventurous son along with me. Whenever he can, my husband comes along, but
this time, the situation required that I travel alone. My travels were supposed
to take me to Tulsa, Oklahoma to spend time helping a friend, but my friend’s
situation changed. As the immediate need for my presence had passed, I was left
with a choice: turn around immediately and return home, or take advantage of a
clear schedule and some time alone. Following the suggestion of my good-sported
husband, I chose the latter.
It’s funny sometimes how God allows our plans to be altered
so that he can present us with something else. He knew that only an emergency
would be able to pull me away from both my husband and my son for more than a
day. So He did just that. He gave me an emergency. Then, He traded me a
sabbatical.
I spent time catching up with dear old friends and got to
have some playtime with my nieces. I took a drive through Amish country, played
tourist at the Precious Moments Chapel, and went rock climbing. I had a meat
pie at an authentic Australian cafe called the “Walkabout Coffee Shop.” I
treated myself to a shopping trip, got my hair done, but most importantly, got
to spend some alone time with God.
God has a way of using situations, even the most mundane ones,
to teach us important life lessons. On this trip, he started teaching me a
couple. God knows how much I love travelling, and he used travelling this week
to show me that there’s a fine line between courage and recklessness. I tend to
walk the fence between them with poor, unsteady balance.
Courage will drive hundreds of miles in a snow storm…er polar
vortex…to help a friend. Recklessness will forget to check the oil. Adventurers
will turn a road trip into an opportunity for making new friends, catching up
with old ones, and finding fun along the way. Recklessness, however, will allow
a country girl to drive after dark, during rush hour, in a unfamiliar large city
while it’s raining.
Thankfully, my car didn't die and I eventually made it off
the interstate. I finally remembered the
importance of maintaining good tire pressure and watching your car’s oil level.
God was watching over me and kept me safe, but not without a lesson and
warning.
Courage may include a willingness to gamble, to take a risk
for a good cause, but it also has the wisdom to know when to bet and when to
fold. It knows how to choose a good cause to fight for. Adventure will always
include at least a small element of danger. That’s part of what makes it an
adventure. However, the one who survives an adventure recognizes when the risks
of danger exceed his level of experience.
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