2012 is here! Now I’m not typically one to go and make new year’s resolutions. I always end up giving up a month or two in – not exactly the most self-motivated person out there. But, I don’t mind setting a few goals for myself, especially if they’re fun.
I don’t remember what exactly sparked this desire in me, but at some point a couple of weeks ago, I was inspired to write my first ever bucket list. Now since apparently it isn’t common knowledge what a bucket list is (or so the Welsh tell me), basically it is my list of spontaneous things I would like to accomplish in my life. Really, it was just a good excuse to sit and come up with dreams and challenges and aspirations and ridiculous things for myself.
And the cool thing is that in my first week in Uganda, I got to cross off three things on my bucket list!
Bungee jumping.
Rafting the Nile.
Milking a cow.
That’s three down, but quite a few more to go. So for your personal new year’s entertainment…
JILL’S BUCKET LIST
- See a penguin in the wild.
- Take ballroom dancing lessons.
- Go sky diving.
- Visit 6 of the 7 continents.
- See the Northern lights.
- See a moonbow.
- Ride a horse.
- Run a half marathon.
- Write a song.
- Go surfing (or rather attempt to learn to surf).
- Learn Spanish well enough to have a conversation.
- Visit California and New York in the States, and travel to Australia, New Zealand, England/Wales, Italy, Greece, and South Africa.
- Learn sign language.
- Work for a nonprofit.
- Go see a professional soccer game.
- Participate in a flash mob.
- Get a meaningful tattoo.
- Adopt.
- Walk a goat on a leash.
- Go rock climbing.
- Ride in a sailboat.
- Live on a beach.
- Learn to skateboard.
- Fill a passport book.
- Float in the Dead Sea.
- Get a fish pedicure.
- Eat a bug (on purpose).
- Run a challenge course.
- Participate in a food fight.
- Have a worship party in the wilderness (maybe a desert) under a starry sky.
- Take photography classes.
- Visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
- Crash a wedding.
- Be on TV or in a movie.
- Meet Harry Potter or Justin Bieber or any of my favorite Duke players from past/present – give them a hug.
- Make a difference in someone’s life.
- More to be dreamed up…
Ah, just typing all that out makes my skin crawl with the excitement of things that might await me! And whether they come into fruition really depends on two things: God and me.
One of my favorite authors, Donald Miller, put it this way – “No, life cannot be understood flat on a page. It has to be lived; a person has to get out of his head, has to fall in love, has to memorize poems, has to jump off bridges into rivers, has to stand in an empty desert and whisper sonnets under his breath… We get one story, you and I, and one story alone. God has established the elements, the setting and the climax and the resolution. It would be a crime not to venture out, wouldn’t it?”
I remember reading his book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years and being so inspired to live a great story with my life. I token that book and my best friend Megan Tolley (and of course God) to giving me the nudge I needed to spend six weeks serving in Malawi last summer. I realized that I was tired of sitting on a couch and dreaming – I wanted to be the one out there doing life and experiencing life to the fullest. I mean Jesus said in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the FULL.” Jesus came so that we could live life abundantly!
And as fun as my little list above is, what I’ve found to be true is that God dreams much bigger dreams for us than we could ever dream for ourselves. I never would have guessed that I would be traveling the world, spending each month living in a different country, to spread the word of God. I mean every time I stop to think about it, I realize how crazy that is! I can’t tell you how many times on this race I’ve had to ask myself “Is this real life?!” Because of God’s leading in my life, I’ve sang and brought laughter to orphans with disabilities in Bulgaria, spent an afternoon loving on wild and crazy gypsy children on top of a hill in Romania, danced on a rooftop to Hanson’s Christmas album with orphans in India, hiked up mountains to pray over cities in Nepal, played a worship song on stage at a crusade in front of hundreds of people in Kenya, visited the genocide memorial and formed close relationships with those directly affected by the genocide in Rwanda, and prayed for and encouraged the sick, the imprisoned, and the unreached in Uganda. And that is all in the past seven months alone! I never would have chosen that life for myself, but God new it would be my story all along.
I’ve heard it said, “He’s trying to write your story, you just have to hand over the pen.” God calls us into life at its fullest, and we don’t have to worry about all the little details of how it’s going to happen, we just have to stand up and say, “Okay God, let’s do this!” He’ll take care of the rest.
Let God lead you, and be willing to follow, no matter how crazy the path. Because I guarantee you that God knows how to guide your life to the most beautiful places that you never would have found on your own. So readers, I’m calling you to stand up, trust Him, hand over the pen, and get ready to truly live!
