The Great Adventure

On December 31, 1995 my Mom, Dad, Sister and I left our home in South Carolina to move to Virginia. My Dad was following God's call on his life to leave the church where he had pastored for seven years in order to serve as a Chaplain in the Navy. I remember that my parents adopted Steven Curtis Chapman's song "The Great Adventure" as our theme song. We would load up in the car and belt out "Saddle up your horses... We've got a trail to blaze!" with each new thing that came our way.

Life has a funny way of coming full circle. One week from today Josh will leave the church where he has pastored for the last seven years and our family of four will load into our van to make the journey from our home in small-town North Carolina to Illinois. I have already decided what I will be singing as we leave. Its the same song that has been playing in my head ever since we started this journey, reminiscent of childhood. "Let's follow our Leader into the glorious unknown..."

Looking back I wonder if my parents sang that song as much for themselves as for us girls. They wanted to teach us that following God is an adventure, and that even though it can be hard it is full of possibility and excitement. Its the same thing I want our boys to learn on this journey. Yet sometimes knowing these things and feeling them are two different matters altogether. Fear and worry can crowd out excitement, the pain of goodbye and the loss of the familiar can overshadow possibility. In those moments we cling to God's promises, to His faithfulness to us... and sometimes we let a song drown everything else out.

One week until we set out on our Great Adventure.