Friday, September 7, 2012

The Road Less Traveled

Do you have those moments when you look up at the sky and see a plane passing overhead, wonder where it is going, and want to be on it, not really caring where it takes you. Or maybe you catch yourself looking through the pages of your passport. Seeing the stamps and remembering the places and the people. Or looking at the empty passport pages and wondering what stamps they will be filled with someday.

For those that don't know me well I am a person who craves home and normal. Once upon a time I had a plan for my life and it was perfect right down to the home with white picket fence, loving husband and kids. When I moved recently I found the journals I had written in from college. I read through those entries once again where I struggled with going to Indonesia that first time in the summer of 2000. I sensed that God was calling me to an adventure but I was worried and scared. It was scary to consider going so far from home but there was also a sense that God might be calling me to a life that was different from the normal and that was even more frightening.

As each step of this journey and adventure has unfolded there have been similar feelings. I wonder if when I am old I will regret not having a normal life with stable friends. I wonder if spreading my wings, pursuing my dreams, and once again leaving for the road less traveled is for the best.

I recently read the book Love at the Speed of Email by Lisa McKay. In the book she tells the story of her and her husband-to-be's journey. They were both world travelers (still are) and had many of the same questions and thoughts. There were several parts of the book that struck a chord with me but then I came across this quote, "What if with God there is enough adventure at home and enough home in adventure?" It helped me realize that the the adventure I crave and the home I desire is not found in places but in God, and as long as I am following Him I will always have a home.