I woke up this morning to the rushing waters of the Nile
River. I slowly got out of my sleeping bag and crawled out of my tent. I walked
over to the edge of the balcony and just gazed into the majestic views of the
longest river on earth and began to ponder life.
I just finished
reading a book entitled A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller. All throughout the book he talked
about life being a unique story, a story that demands a character that
overcomes conflict and yields reward. I started to think about my life and my
story. I started to wonder if my life were a movie, would I want to watch? Well
actually, I first questioned if others would want to watch my life on the big
screen but then I realized that I am not living this life for anyone other than
the Lord; so, then I questioned if I would want to watch and would it please
the Lord?
Miller expanded
on the idea of conflict and reward. Essentially, he reiterated the age-old
idea: the greater the risk, the greater the reward. He explained that in order
to add excitement to a story that there needs to be an element of risk. No one
wants to read about the man that stood on the bank of the Nile and watched the
rapids ferociously devour everything that entered its path. They want to read
about the man who took a risk and challenged the beast. They want to read about
the man who got into a raft and conquered class five rapids.
So, I had a
decision to make. I had the choice to be the man that stood on the bank of the
Nile or I had the choice to be the man that conquered the rapids. If you knew
my personality, then you would know that I would never pass up an opportunity
to experience something so incredible. I decided to be the man that would enter
the mouth of the Nile River.
To be continued…
