Let's Risk the Ocean...

I was certainly not planning on writing a blog tonight, but as the rain pours, thunder rolls and lighting strikes outside my window I sat back and starting thinking about the tug that has been at my heart all day, longing for an adventure. I know it is the Lord Jesus, if even in the most suttle way, drawing me to himself; ever pursuing my heart. As I sit in my room thinking about 100 different things, one thought leading to another thought, and so on; everything touches everything in a girls mind; and somewhere in my thoughts I starting thinking about adventures.

As I thought about ,specifically the adventure of love and risk that it is, these words came out of my mouth and pretty much started the process of what is now this blog; “If our whole goal in life is to never get hurt, to never have our hearts broken (again, or at all) we are not going to live life.”

Then a portion of Isaiah 61:1 came to mind “He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted” Jesus knows we are going to have broken hearts, he knows that we are going to have trouble, He even promised it. But, the goal is not to avoid heartbreak, but to know that when your heart is broken that Jesus Christ will be there to heal it! Now, I am not saying be foolish. Be wise, be lead of the Spirit, be smart; Phili 1:9-10 “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,”

What I am saying is at some point you just have to GET OUT of the boat!! Sometimes the wise thing to do is STEP OUT and take a risk! I want to be a part of an adventure. I was sitting here thinking, I want to marry a man who lives a life of adventure, a guy who is not afraid to “risk the ocean." I think most every girl, or maybe it's just me, wants someone to say "Come on, let's jump." You may be shaking in your boots, but you say "OK, Lets!" Again, I'm not saying be foolish, but there is something about someone taking your hand and saying "JUMP!" I think of  the movie Aladdin, and when Jasmin and Aladdin are standing at the window running from the palace guards, and Jasmin has to make the choice to  jump or not, Aladdin takes her hand and says "do you trust me?" It always makes me think, what a picture of Christ. There are going to come those moments where you you and I have to step out in faith. All we have to do it take the hand of our faithful God and listen to Him whispering "Do you trust me? Then JUMP!"


 We all want to be a part of a great adventure, we want to be a part of something bigger than us, but to be a part of an adventure its always going to involve some risk. Below is an excerpt from the book Captivating by: Stasi Eldridge that came to mind as I was writing all these thought down a few minutes ago.


An Irraplaceable Role in a Great Adventure
“You belong among the wildflowers
You belong in a boat out at sea
You belong with your love on your arm
You belong somewhere you feel free” –Tom Petty


“We did it! He did. I did. We rose to the challenge working together, and the fact that it requires all of me, that I was in it with my family, and for my family, that I was surrounded by wild, shimmering beauty and it was, well, kind of dangerous made the time…transcendent.


“Then the time came when the risk it took
To remain tight in a bud was more painful
Than the risk it took to blossom.”-Anais Nin


“In the depths of my soul, I longed to be a part of something large and good; something that required all of me; something dangerous and worth dying for. There is something fierce in the heart of a woman. Simply insult her children, her man, or her best friends, and you’ll get a taste of it. A woman is a warrior too. But she is meant to be a warrior in a uniquely feminine way. Sometimes before the sorrows of life did their best to kill it in us, most young women wanted to be a part of something grand, something important. Before doubt and accusation take hold, most little girls sense that they have a vital role to play; they want to believe there is something in them that is needed and needed desperately.


“In the Lord of Rings trilogy are valiant and beautiful—women like Arwen, Galadriel, and Eowyn change the fate of Middle Earth. And what about women like Esther, Ruth, and Mary? They are Biblical characters who had irreplaceable roles in a Great Story. Not “safe” and “nice” women, not merely “sweet,” but passionate and powerful women who were beautiful as warriors.”


“No one else in that canoe could have done what I did. Women love adventures of all sorts. Whether it be the adventure of horses, or white-water rafting, going to a foreign country, performing on stage, having children, starting a business, or diving ever more deeply into the heart of God, we were made to be a part of a great adventure that was SHARED! We do not want an adventure merely for adventure’s sake but for what is required of us for others. We don’t want to be alone in it; we want to be in it with others.”


Sometimes the idea of living as a hermit appeals to all of us. No demands, no needs, no pain, no disappointment, But that is because we have been hurt, are worn out. In our heart of hearts, that place where we are most ourselves, we don’t want to run away for very long. Our lives were meant to be lived with others. As echoes of the Trinity, we remember something. Made in the image of a perfect relationship, we are relational to the core of our beings and filled with a desire for transcendent purpose. We long to be an irreplaceable part of a shared adventure.”

“Let’s risk the ocean
         there’s only grace.” –David Crowder Band