It's An Adventure!

Many years ago, a neighbor couple, both of whom were blind, asked me to take them to a doctor’s appointment at Erlanger. No problem; I packed my two little ones in the van, along with those neighbors, and we set off to perform our good deed.

Erlanger covers a fairly large campus, and I was unfamiliar with the place. The friends asked me to drop them off at a certain place; then I went to park the van. I put our baby girl in the stroller and our 4-year-old son walked beside me. To my dismay, the couple had not waited for us, but had gone on their way to their appointment. They knew where they were going! Unfortunately, I did not. I panicked. I had not the least idea which building they had gone into. I made a wild guess, which was in error. My panic level rose. I was totally lost, along with my two babies, and I had lost the blind people for whom I was responsible! (No one had cell phones at that time.)

For some reason, I thought the place must be “over there.” I bumped the stroller along a grassy expanse, expecting to reach the next building. Suddenly, we were at the edge of a six-foot drop-off. This grassy lawn went nowhere. I was absolutely dismayed and without any hope of finding our friends. I was too frightened to cry. My son looked over the abyss before us and exclaimed with true delight, “Mom, this is an adventure!”

I was stunned. Adventure? This was a disaster! His comment really set me back. Not having any responsibility in the matter, he was absolutely enjoying himself. What a difference in perspective! We were both going through the same motions, but because of an awareness of plan, or lack thereof, and a sense of responsibility, or lack thereof, we had exactly opposite responses to the situation.

My son did not know that his guide was completely lost and had no knowledge of what to do. I don’t think he could even have comprehended that. So he was happy and secure.

Our situation with our Guide is exactly the opposite. God is never lost and always knows what to do. But our reaction, which should be the happiness and security exhibited by my son, is also the opposite! We worry and fuss about things we do not understand, we fear the next step or the consequences of that step. We panic. We are dismayed. We try to take responsibility for things we cannot control.

What if we actually believed God knows what is going on, whether good or bad, and is in control of our lives? He tries to tell us. One of our Scripture passages in our recent study of the Holy Spirit is Proverbs 3:5&6, with which we are all familiar. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.” God tells us in Psalm 32, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye,” and in Psalm 119, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

We know from experience that even when all things seem to be going wrong, God can sort all that out in a way we never expected and make a beautiful result.  We did find our friends, through an amazing chance – or God’s provision. Sometimes our disasters do not have a happy ending, at least, not that we can see. Yet, could we go through life every moment expecting God to make a beautiful result? Let’s practice. At every step, let’s say, “This is an adventure!” And thank our good God.

--Lynda Shenefield