Woman at the Well: Adventure

"A ship in harbor is safe, but that's not what ships are for." - John A. Shed

My daughter posted a video she took of her very first dorm room. She is so excited about the new adventure at University.

If she is experiencing fear and trepidation she is turning it into excitement and taking control of the situation. She has joyfully picked out her classes, contacted and made friends with her room mate before the move in, decided that she is going to be involved in school life, went to her first class and volunteered to be the first one up in front of everyone, and decorated her dorm apartment with her own artwork and things that mean something to her. She isn't just staying there. She moved in. It's her home. My children are like that. At church they wanted to go to nursery unlike many who cried about being left there. When kindergarten came along they happily dashed onto the playground and waved goodbye to me. They chose to take on challenges and learn new things. Even the one who walked around with his hands over his face because he was so shy, blossomed into a kid that took over the stage at school concerts. When it was time to leave home, they didn't figure out ways to stick around. No one hung out in the basement playing video games. They embraced their new adult roles even knowing it wasn't going to be easy. For my kids, life is an adventure. A bumpy, hard, adventure with some thrill rides and peaceful valleys. January is traditionally known as the new beginning. A new year and feeling tired and bloated from too much holiday cheer leads many of us to make grandiose goals which are often left on the wayside. But September is also a time of new beginnings. After the lazy summer days and as the weather cools down to glorious colourful falls, we make new goals. Smaller goals. Without all the pomp and circumstance of January goals. For my daughter she is not just starting a new school year or a new school. She is starting a new life. One that will have bumpy spots and where she might have to slay a few dragons. But hopefully there will be exciting positive things as well. New friends. Doors that open up. Ideas that she can reject or embrace. New experiences. In many ways this child of mine is more mature than I am. But we don't need to go to school to make goals or try new things or embrace adventure. Nor do we need to make big life changes. We can just do little things to shake things up. Take a class, join a club, volunteer, find a new job, make a friend, learn a new skill, or visit a new place. I've found that if we don't choose our own adventure, life will choose an adventure for us. And sometimes life choosing the adventure isn't the adventure we want. God never intended for us to stay still. We came to earth not knowing the challenges we would face. We came knowing that we were going to have challenges and we would learn in the process. We embraced the adventure.

Are you sitting there safe in harbor - or is it time for a new adventure?