Adventure is My Middle Name!

No, actually, it is Lynn. 

In my younger days, I was much more daring - I went on roller coasters and blazed trails and ate baby-back ribs and drove my chair to the edge of cliffs. I've been thinking more about crazy young Connie this summer, when people tell me how brave they think I am, and I smile to myself, knowing that it is taking a lot more effort these days for me to take on a lot less than I used to. Various pains and disappointments over the years have made me more careful and hesitant, and I relate more and more to Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit (the book), who said that adventures were "nasty, disturbing, uncomfortable things that make you late for dinner." Honestly, a nice, quiet, calm, uneventful dinner sounds nice, doesn't it? 

Nevertheless, there's a tingling in my spirit that says I'm not quite ready to be finished with new challenges and experiences. I still have a longing and a hope that my heart will grow stronger and my soul will expand, and they need space and opportunity to see how much they can.

This summer experiment is not easy. I have been stressed, anxious, fearful, and weary on more than one occasion. Physically, my body can't do a lot of what it used to do and can't keep up when I try to push it. And while I am learning to adapt to take better care of myself, I choose to press on, because this is important. It's important to do hard things and lean on my limits to see how far they will stretch - not to prove that I am anything great, but to see just how great God's power is and how far he will go to do a mighty work in me and my friends. 

My friend Katie and I experienced a scary moment in transferring me out of my chair one day during my first week here. Neither of us were hurt, but we sure got a terrifying adrenaline rush! Once we were in a safe and secure place, we both nervously laughed and waited for our heartbeats to slow back down. I told her about a scene in The Princess Bride (the book) when Fezzik and Inigo were descending into Prince Humperdink's Zoo of Death, and in their own scary moment Inigo encourages Fezzik by saying, "Let's look on the bright side: we're having an adventure, and most people live and die without being as lucky as we are." So Katie and I remind ourselves of this whenever we are together now. 

And I guess that's the best thing about this summer... It is an adventure - "A Constance Adventure," as one friend calls it - but I'm not doing it alone. I'm on an adventure with Katie and all these other friends, who can be brave and strong when I can't. I just have to be courageous enough to say yes and take the first step, and from there I hang on for dear life, trusting God and the faith of my friends to carry me. 

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