Never Stop Exploring

My husband has backpacked with the same group of guys every six months or so for the past seventeen years.  Whether locally or distant, what has made these hikes epic has not always been the destination, but how they faced the unexpected. 

For all of their careful preparation, with the exception of one long weekend, not one hike has gone according to plan.  They have had to alter their routes, their timing, their pace, always being flexible to accommodate what was way beyond their control--snow, floods, winds, emerging health problems, injuries along the way, pandemic restrictions, and the latest, last month in the Alaskan wilderness, a landslide across the access road.  

As they start off at a trailhead, they never really know what they will discover.  But as they have found, the difficult parts, the challenging, and the unexpected does not ruin the trip.  It is what makes it an adventure.  For all of us, the unexpected is the what we likely remember most of our own experiences and how we learn and prepare for the next.

As my husband has discovered on his treks, the adventure really starts when the unplanned appears.  The wonders are not limited to the fantastic views, but in the "how in the world are we going to get through this?"

Even in our most ordinary of days, how do we approach what is set before us?  Just seeing it as the same old stuff....or see something new -- and adventurous-- in it?  Do we see interruptions?  Or opportunities?

My husband and I recently viewed a short series of documentaries about an expedition through the wilderness.  The group had prepared years for this journey-- compiling all the best equipment, carefully planning their routes, places to stop for the night, pinpointing sources to resupply fuel and food, what they would do, how they would do it, and document it all.  

When it came down to it in the documentary, their trip was almost cut short by a depleted supply of bandages and dependence on a rather mediocre chain saw that was thrown in at the last minute.

But my favorite part that they filmed daily was in the waning hours of those hard days, going around, one by one, and asking, "What was your favorite part of the day?"

Their answers were never based on what they had expected to do, to find or discover, but those experiences far exceeding their carefully planned schedule, agenda, or vision.   It is why God calls us to "Follow Me into it."  There is something more that He wants us to see and experience.  

We can lay our day before the Lord, but when we ask Him to lay His day before us, there are no interruptions but His wonders that transcend even our imaginations.

The unknown is not unknown to God.  The unexpected is not what to fear.  It may actually turn out to be your favorite part.  "I never knew I could do that."  "I never knew God could do that."  "I could never have done that without Him."

And just plain "Wow!"

We are not in control.  But He is.  Nothing random after all.  But His staggering faithfulness.

 

For I know the plans I have for you,

                   declares the LORD,

plans for welfare and not for evil,

to give you a future and a hope.

...You will seek Me and find me,

when you seek Me with all your heart.

                       Jeremiah 29. 11, 13 

And that is when the adventure begins. Even in what only appears as an ordinary day. 

What if we add to our conversation over supper, What was your favorite part of this day?  And then look for the unexpected treasures of His faithfulness.  

Never stop exploring.