Life's Lessons: Lessons from Adventures

Introduction to Life's Lessons

Everyone says to do what you love. I sit around some days and think about that for hours. How can I financially support myself if I'm just hanging out with people all day long? If I lived in the wilderness for the rest of my life is there a way that I could simultaneously be spreading the Gospel that I believe in so deeply?

When I think about the times I'm happiest, it's when I'm either in community with people building relationships, or when I'm out on an adventure. Since I haven't really been able to find a career in either of those things yet, I decided today that I want to use my blog to share how those two loves/passions shape me. Maybe it's a niche that could allow me to turn into one of those professional internet bloggers with guest bloggers and cool pictures. Maybe even a speaking event here and there! I doubt it, but I like dreaming!

Recently I've been joking with this guy at work that keeps calling me "weird", always asking me how old I am trying to determine where the days of my youth got lost. I think the reason he considers me weird is because the experiences I've already had in life have shaped me in a way that most people don't see happen to them until they're in their 40's. I enjoy birdwatching. Let me ask you this... if you were to shape your life off of the lives of the wisest people on the planet, wouldn't you choose people in an older generation? My life and hobbies reflect those of the retired community... I make wise decisions! I enjoy going to sleep at 10pm. Most consider that bedtime to be too early and feel bad for their grandmother that has to leave events early to get home by then to go to bed. So, maybe I have some traits that I share with an older generation, but from now on you'll be able to read where they come from through stories of my experiences on adventures and through community!

Today's Lesson

I've been reading a blog post from one of my friends who after college decided he was going to experience homelessness for a year. It happened to me on accident for a few days when I first moved to Charleston, and it was very trying. Reading his blog shows me what it could have been like if it was real. 

You can find it here: Redefine Homelessness

I'm inspired by his blog and his experiences. It makes me want to do things that take a step out from my comfort zones. There are worlds of people apart from us that we choose to ignore. Those of you who have been reading my blogs for a while know that I tried to spend a lot of time with homeless people when I had the margin in my life to be out and about in downtown Charleston throughout the week. They often come back to mind and I'm continually hoping for a breakthrough in my career that allows me to spend that kind of time in their community again. But, I've been convicted of other people groups that I go through life ignoring. The families in Africa surrounded by civil wars, separated from every member of their family. The one-child policy in China that puts a lot of stress on a family if they can't manage to birth a son. Women who are tossed around as sex objects. Crazy stuff happens all over the world, but it won't be on Fox News tonight. It might be mentioned, but they'll likely dumb it down as if it were a minor event that affected very few people.

In America, we have access to everything we could ever want. It's crazy though... we're never satisfied by it. We always want something better. Something bigger.

I want to think about life in a way that my biggest desire is to eat a meal during the day. That my largest daydream is to have a warm place to sleep at night. That the biggest blessing in my life is that I know where my family is and that they are safe. 

In order to do that I need to fight the temptation to want the things Americans want. If I allow myself to want the iPhone 6, a drone, a Fitbit and all the hot items from this past Christmas, then I'll be so busy trying to attain the financial status necessary to buy these items that I'll forget about my young brothers and sisters in Africa. All they wanted for Christmas was to know where their mommy was. 

Blessed

There's times where I sit down and blog for other people. I know that I have certain friends and family around the world that are interested to know how I'm doing and what's going on in my life. I hope that my words and actions encourage them, and that the things that God is doing in my life point others toward Him. Other times I blog for me. It seems that my thoughts sometimes only get in order when I'm typing them out. I find the most wisdom and conviction through what the Spirit decides to work out through my own fingers. I think it took some time for me to realize that I actually blog for myself most of the time.

I asked myself if it makes sense to blog and not just journal. A journal is more private. I can share things that I might not want to share through a blog. But, then I remember that life isn't meant to be lived alone. My problems aren't meant to be dealt with alone. My fears aren't supposed to be given a foothold to destroy me. The blessings I receive aren't meant to make me feel high and mighty. I want my life to be completely transparent. I want my sin to be something that others can see, so that they can hold me accountable to it, but also to give other people comfort to know that they aren't the only ones going through something. If we think we're the only ones with a struggle we're more likely to keep it hidden inside.

It's also important to understand that sharing things too openly can be harmful. If people around us hear that we have certain attributes, then they may stop paying attention to us. For example, if the pastor of a church were continually professing a specific political background it would most likely lead some people away. I'm not saying that it's all about the numbers because of the numbers, but because of the sphere of influence. In this case, a pastor would have a larger sphere of influence if he hadn't discussed his political background. If everything else he teaches is something that would be beneficial for someone regardless of political background, then there is no reason to feel the need to be transparent about that matter.

So I want to be transparent. I heard a sermon a month or two ago that got me thinking pretty deeply about the idea of being blessed. So often I look at the house and neighborhood I live in, the student loans I have to pay, the hours of work I have to put in, and I think I'm better than that. I'm better than a house that's falling apart. I'm better than having to work 50 hours a week. I'm smart enough to have skipped school. All these prideful thoughts like to get in my head and start burning an ugly fire of discomfort.

I had to remember that I'm right where God wants me to be. All the things that burn that frustration are things that God placed in my life because this is where He wanted me to be. If I'm exactly where God wants me to be, then I'm blessed. God allowed me to be stripped out of all my comforts two years ago, and this is the way He chose to build my life back together.

So instead of those negative thoughts I need to remember: I OWN a house. I HAVE a neighborhood. I EARNED a degree that allows me to WORK at a great job. So this is where God has me. The only thing to do now is figure out what He wants me to do with it?

Did God allow me to buy a house so that I could be more comfortable? Am I surrounded by neighbors so that I can be secluded from them? Do I have a degree so that I can work a minimum wage job? Do I earn a good salary so that I can feel financially blessed?

When I was in high school I managed to set myself up so that I took calculus 1&2 my junior year. That decision allowed me to spend some time my senior year helping out by teaching my friends and younger schoolmates how to do calculus as a teacher aid. I ended up in a position where I was able to help others because of the experiences that I had.

I'm blessed with a relationship with God that allows me to look at the things I have in a positive way. What am I going to do with them?