Travelling is an Adventure

Travelling Is An Adventure

Normal people travel and have absolutely no glitches.  They have obviously never travelled with me.  In youth ministry, the countless times the church van left us at our camp in the mountains or in the desert created stories forever.   Along with the fact that I once almost flew the Bible Bowl quiz team to the wrong city, my students learned quickly that if they travel with me, we would not travel in a straight line. Travelling teaches us lessons and if we take the time to learn, it can be life changing.

I always try to do something that the locals would do…visit Wal-Mart.  The truth is I always forget something that Wal-Mart can provide, which is ironic because I do not pack light.  As I walk through stores and observe the items and customers, I realize that people have different cultural ways but the same pursuit in life.  We all want the best.  We all want to present our best to others, even when our best might be questionable to others around us. Sometimes, we all just want to get to the cashier before the lady with the cart full of stuff does. 

They tell us on mission trips to eat the food means you have accepted the culture of the people, so I always try to eat what is unique to that part of the area.  Food can be adventurous, even in America.  When we stay with what is comfortable, we miss out on what can teach us a new way of life.

The beauty of America is noted when you drive through areas that you have never seen or have not seen in a while.  I forget how green the rest of America since I live in Southern California and brown land surrounds me.  Sometimes you have to look beyond the rows of trees and remember that it is land where wars were fought and where moonshiners created their own wars within their territories. 

Travelling should be an adventure.  See what others do.  Eat what others eat.  Go without worrying about getting lost.  Enjoy the extra time in an airport with delays. Like the hand written directions that flew out the window (before GPS), trips never go as planned.  Life doesn’t always go as planned.  From my travelling I have learned to trust God and others.  From travelling I have discovered that when plans do not go well, you actually do something better than you imagined.  When life begins to get interrupted and gets messy, I remember all the trips that got interrupted and messy and realize that in the end, it’s those times that we speak of the most.  So, sometimes I need to remember to plan but be flexible and try something new.  It’s the only way to fly.