Faith Adventures

Listen: “Renegades” by X Ambassadors

Do you like adventures? Based on television advertising, everybody in America loves an adventure. Americans want to look young and adventurous, even if they are not. Adventure sports like mountain biking, rock climbing, skating, and four wheeling are used in marketing to sell just about everything. People want to drive a Sports Utility Vehicle even if they never drive it off road and get it dirty or scratched.

However, the reality is—most adults prefer comfort, safety, and security. I am reminded of a conversation which Bilbo Baggins had with Gandalf in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit.

Gandalf: “I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it’s very difficult to find anyone.”

 Bilbo: “I should think so—in these parts! We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner! I can’t think what anybody sees in them.”

 Gandalf: “You’ll have a tale or two to tell when you come back.”

 Bilbo: “You can promise that I’ll come back?”

Gandalf: “No. And if you do, you will not be the same.”

It’s true. Adventures have a way of changing us. I have always viewed following God’s will as a faith adventure. I realize that some people who are not inclined towards adventure sports like I am may not find this analogy useful, but surrender to a higher power, living for a higher purpose, and serving humanity for the greater good are faith adventures in my book. Do you prefer safety and security over adventure?

I was listening to a podcast which Brené Brown did with David Eagleman in 2020. Eagleman is a neuroscientist and internationally best-selling author. He teaches brain plasticity at Stanford University and is the creator and host of the Emmy-nominated television series The Brain. Brené and David were discussing how to keep your brain malleable as you grow older. It’s almost like you need to work your brain out to keep it healthy just like you do your body. At the end of the interview Brené says: “ Staying malleable is staying awkward, brave, and vulnerable.” I thought, “those are perfect descriptions for how I have felt the last couple of years. Maybe there’s still hope for me!”

One of the things I have tried to do in my own recovery is reframe this dark episode of my life as an epic adventure, like Dante’s “midlife” crisis—one fraught with all the pitfalls and snares inherent in any epic journey. This reframing helps me see the opportunities for recovery with the eyes of faith, which gives rise to hope in me.

There is a chapter in the New Testament which I call the “heroes of the faith” chapter (Hebrews 11). The author of Hebrews goes through several of the most famous heroes of the Old Testament and highlights their faith adventures. None of these heroes of the faith were perfect. Some of them were far from perfect. They all had a spirituality forged in imperfection. They remind me of the adventures mentioned in The Big Book of AA:

Our description of the alcoholic, the chapter to the agnostic, and our personal adventures before and after make clear three pertinent ideas:

(a)   That we were alcoholic and could not manage our own lives.

(b)  That probably no human power could have relieved our alcoholism.

(c)   That God could and would if He were sought (Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 60).

The author of the book of Hebrews has a similar observation: “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him” (Hebrews 11:6; NLT). Whether overcoming an addiction or living the adventure of God’s will, faith is a necessary ingredient. Faith in yourself, faith in others, and faith in God as you understand him are essential for the journey.

 The Bible is a book of faith adventures. Noah built an ark on dry land for a flood he couldn’t see. Abram left his homeland for a country he’d never known. Joseph was sold into slavery before he ascended to authority in a foreign land. Moses murdered an Egyptian and fled punishment before he returned to Egypt to set his people free. David was a shepherd boy who defeated a giant and became king of Israel. Naomi left her native home for a people she had never seen. Jesus left heaven to come to earth. Saul of Tarsus (Paul) encountered the resurrected Christ and traveled the Roman world sharing the good news and starting churches. All of these journeys were riddled with doubt and suffering and redemption, but they teach us the way of faith.

 It’s the journey of the hero or heroine. Whether its Odysseus, St. Francis, or Bill W, every journey has the same basic elements: (1) they naively inhabit their home of origin; (2) they leave home for an adventure of some sort; (3) they encounter an unforeseen obstacle or wound which transforms their lives; (4) they find their true purpose; and (5) they give away what they have learned and discovered.

 I do not believe the human spirit thrives in risk-free environments padded with comfort, security, and leisure. It’s certainly nice to have a needed break from the stressful and sometime frantic paces in which we live, but constant comfort, security, and leisure should not be our goal in life. 

I think of creativity as a vital aspect of a faith adventure. If we are made in the image of a God who creates, then creativity is at the heart of our true identity. Singing, laughing, playing, writing, painting, thinking, learning, running, talking, building, fixing, sharing, photographing, speaking, exploring, reading, jumping, skipping, discovering, birthing, caring, nurturing, breathing, swimming, biking, hiking, renovating, recovering, loving—these are the verbs of adventurous, faith-filled creativity. They balance out the crying, stumbling, falling, hurting, deceiving, manipulating, fighting, disillusioning, fearing, controlling, irritating, annoying, forgiving, and healing.

And let’s not forget—the wounds incurred on a faith adventure, if handled creatively, become the sacred wounds through which we authentically connect with others, ourselves, and the world in which we live. At the heart of spirituality is connection.

There’s a quote I have come to love which I first heard in the recovery community. Evidently it originates with a Canadian clergyman named William Benjamin Basil King (1859-1928). He says: “Go at it boldly, and you’ll find unexpected forces closing round you and coming to your aid.” I heard actor Anthony Hopkins cite it in a paraphrase: “ Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid.” Sounds like a faith adventure to me. I think I’ll join Gandalf!

Shalom

©realfredherron, 2021