“There is no greater adventure than walking the path of obedience to Jesus.”
— Alistair Begg
My apologies to any who’ve been waiting for an update for a while but haven’t got any. Though I could say I’ve been very occupied with life lately, I don’t see that as a valid excuse, so I’ll just ask your forgiveness and move on.
So let’s jump right in.
When I left on the bike, I felt in my heart that it was the right thing for me to do. I wanted to experience something different than what I was used to, and to have (what I thought would be) more ample opportunity to depend upon the everyday provision of God. I wanted to have an adventure — meaning I wanted to experience the love of my Father in a deeper way than I had previously done. That’s what an adventure really is, and it’s something you should never fence up into a certain category or lifestyle; it isn’t how or where you live and breathe, but truly having your heart with you wherever you may be living, to appreciate the breath in your lungs as something special, even though it be ordinary. That’s something I didn’t quite realize when I left. But it is something I’ve learnt since, for which I’m thankful.
When I decided to come home, I also felt it was the right thing for me to do. And even though my past has created in me a mind that tends toward the negative, I can confidently say that I do not regret leaving the trip where I did, and certainly do not regret the time I’ve spent at home since. I couldn’t even begin to explain to you what God has done in and through me since returning.
That said, I feel no shame in letting you know that my trip out west is being indefinitely postponed. While I looked forward very much to seeing the west coast and meeting and getting to know so many new people, and I still do look forward to doing that some day, there is simply more for me here at home than there is anywhere else right now. Beauty that I was blinded to in my own selfishness and pride. Beauty that I have had my eyes opened to since being back home. Friends and family, rediscovered and loved like I wasn’t able to do before. Travel is a wonderful thing, but it can very easily become an idol, as it nearly did for me. You don’t need to look beyond your own front door to find people to love. There are mountains that need climbing in distant places, and ones that need moving in our own lives. Some in my own have already been moved.
To put it in more simple and relatable terms for all of you, God has moved in my life, and drawn me nearer to Him in the nine weeks I’ve been home than He has in my previous twenty-one years. And I’m not exaggerating. It isn’t something I planned, but I suppose our drawing nearer to God never goes according to our own plans. It’s His plan that matters. He hasn’t moved in this way because of my location, but because of my heart. I have enough reasons to stay home for the time being, and I know I needn’t list them merely in an attempt to satiate others’ ideas about my life and where its worth comes from. Right now, there are more reasons for me to stay here than there are for me to go west. It also requires more faith of me to stay. Some mountains are larger than others.
So that’s that. I’ll be starting work again soon, and as for right now, what I most need to be doing is loving those whom God has placed in my life already. So that’s what I’ll do.
I’m finally learning. God is teaching me, and leading me, and I’m responding. That’s the greatest adventure I can be living right now, and I am very excited to continue it. Keep me in your prayers.
with love,
— Joel