We just returned from a two week “vacation”. I put quotation marks around that word…because as often happens…I felt like I needed a vacation when we returned home to rest from our “vacation”! But it was a wonderful 14 days.
The first week we travelled to Tennessee with our daughter and her three sons and stayed at a resort which had an indoor/outdoor water park. There was also a place nearby that had lots of amusement park type rides…so two days were spent conquering every opportunity to be whipped around on a track…dropped from high heights…or spun around and around. My husband and daughter deserve an award for doing things at both places that pushed them to their limits…so that our precious grandsons, who have no fear of new experiences…had the time of their lives.
The frustrating thing for me was that I had to be a spectator, not a participant, in most of these experiences. After five back surgeries and a disorder that greatly limits me…I could only be an observer. I knew going into this vacation that I could either make that truth be something that irritated me and made me not a fun person to be around…or I could be intentional in making sure I was a part of the experience, without being able to partake in these activities.
Enter the phrase, “Adventure Living”. I decided that throughout the week, I would use this phrase with my grandsons. As we took them to various places…I would tell the boys that this was “adventure living” because it was an opportunity to do something they had never done before. When they got tired and wondered “how much farther” our 4+ mile hike in the Smoky Mountains would last…I told them that this was adventure living and we were there to enjoy the experience. When I wanted to show them one of my favorite places in the area where there is a fountain that is set to run to music (not something they thought sounded too exciting) …I told them that it would be awesome because it was adventure living (and yes, they ended up loving it!). Over and over again…they heard me say the phrase “adventure living”.
Finally, after several days, one of my grandsons said, “Grandma, why do you keep saying that everything is ‘adventure living’?” My response was, “Because someday, when you have kids of your own, I hope you will say to them ‘I sure wish you could have known my crazy grandma. She was always pushing us to do new things because she said that was adventure living’.” They then said that maybe I will still be alive when they have kids and I can tell them myself. While we know that is possible…I’m not banking on it
Confession time. In my own life, the words “Adventure Living” haven’t been my main motto. My idea of adventure living is not using a measuring spoon when a recipe calls for a teaspoon of oregano…and I just throw caution to the wind and throw some in. So, it doesn’t come natural for me to then want to do adventure living with my grandchildren. In fact, just putting a bathing suit on AND wearing it in public was almost more than I could handle on our vacation. But I remembered that when my first grandchild was born…I decided I would do everything in my power to be “in the moment” with this cherished young life and any other precious grandchildren of whom we would be blessed…and if that meant I needed to wear a bathing suit…I would do it. Little did we know that we would end up with seven amazing grandchildren and number eight will join us in September! What a blessing!
I want my grandchildren to really know me…with all my faults and failures…but that will never happen if I don’t do life with them. They need to see how I approach life…how I act and react to life’s detours…and where my focus is and that isn’t going to happen if I’m just sitting on the sidelines. God is impressing on me that because I have been blessed to have these young lives in our family…I have a responsibility to not just have fun with them…but to pour Jesus into them at every opportunity.
You see, I not only want my grandchildren to be able to tell their kids about our adventure living experiences…I also want them to be able to say that their grandma loved her Jesus with every fiber of her being. That she was always pointing them to her Savior and He directed her every step. That is such a tall order and I feel like I fail more than I succeed…but by doing life together…I’m praying they will also see that God’s grace is readily available when we fall short.
Who has God put in your path that you can influence? Maybe it’s your children…not your grandchildren. Or, if you don’t have children or grandchildren…maybe it’s a family who doesn’t have any grandparents in the area who really wish they did. Or, maybe it’s someone who works next to you every day. Whoever it is…ask God to give you the opportunity to come alongside them and then be intentional on “Adventure Living” together. Who knows…you may realize that you needed them even more than they needed you
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