So, you want an adventure?Joanna Callender - 26 Jul 2016

Have you ever had that moment where the everyday feels a little monotonous; when everything just seems the same and you’re wondering, “Is this really what I’m supposed to do?” 

A few years ago, I became incredibly comfortable and content - and for me, that was a worry. In my mind, life was supposed to be a big adventure; full of radical living; daring moments. At least, that’s what everyone seemed to be saying.

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. 

- Helen Keller

So I left my job to travel overseas for a new adventure; and there I found I was faced with many new challenges; radical and exciting, but also scary and uncertain. Adventure was there, but it was actually pretty tough; and often, not a lot of fun.

In the year that’s followed, I’ve become so aware that travelling overseas is not the only place where adventure is found. In my day to day job, I’ve also been challenged; with different inspiring and encouraging moments that have been radical and exciting; that have grown my faith. 

When we think of adventure, we often envision a life that’s full to the brim of the extraordinary. And often, we strive too hard towards making that our goal. In doing so, we can easily miss the everyday adventures right in front of us. 

Now, I’m learning that being called to live a life that honours God is not necessarily one that’s full of travelling, frantically filling up the diary or having the most interesting social media stream. The most adventurous days of following Jesus can be the ones where we realise the significant in the mundane: when a prayer (however small) is answered, appreciating a God-created sunset, or having the chance to talk to a friend about faith for the first time. 

Some of us will be given a distinctive and exciting mission to travel to a specific place; or to invest in a particular career. But we’re all called to be disciples.

“Paul moved in with them [Aquila and Priscilla], & they worked together at their common trade of tent making.

But every Sabbath he was at the meeting place, doing his best to convince both Jews and Greeks about Jesus.”

- Acts 18:3-4

I often wonder about the ordinary days for heroes in the Bible; when life didn’t seem like an adventure for them. It’s often forgotten that Paul the apostle - who shared Jesus to non-Jewish people all over Europe - was actually a tentmaker by trade; he had a regular job which could’ve been monotonous at times. Just like us. 

Yet in the midst of his work, Paul was putting together books of the New Testament. While making tents; he was spreading the gospel to the world.

What if our mundane moments were actually opportunities for growth? What if we treated every situation we’re in as an opportunity for adventure; in the sense of radically and wholeheartedly devoting ourselves to God? 

If we simply pray for an adventurous life, it’s likely that we’ll be disappointed. If, however, we pray to live each day in radical, challenging obedience to God, we’ll find adventures along the way. 

This blog is the first in our new summer series, A Call to the Wild, exploring real adventures. You can keep up to date with the whole lot on the blog or by following us on instagram. 

#Edgy #Culture #CallToTheWild