The great outdoors! What a magnificent testament to the glory and goodness of God. What a testimony of his creativity, attention to detail, diligence, and awe-inspiring power. It’s a testament of his love of beauty. It is even a testament of how beautiful we are in His eyes because we are his most prized possession and creation. That means no matter the beauty He expressed in those white sandy beaches with clear blue water, or the serenity of a water fall cascading down a mountain, or the tranquility of the sun setting over the African plain, He still finds you more beautiful.
Anyways, I digress. This blog is to tell of a sad reality and a glorious revival in a young man’s spirit. It is to tell of a tragedy that went unnoticed until the pieces were put back together. It is to tell of a passion found again while realizing that it had been lost.
Growing up, I was always outside. I was on my bike riding as fast as I could down the hill right in front of my house and feeling like a racer every time I rounded the corner at the bottom at the maximum controllable speed. I was in the back yard picking wild onions from the yard. Or I was in that same back yard climbing up a mound of dirt imagining it was a mountain that, in all actuality was probably no higher than 5 feet tall. Or I was in the front yard jumping into piles of leaves. No matter what it was, the outdoors was my domain.
As I grew up, that passion only grew more and more. When I was 12 we moved to a neighborhood with hundreds of acres of woods behind it. In those woods is a rock quarry where I found myself many of summers jumping 35 feet into the water below only to climb back up to do it again. Behind that rock quarry is a wonderland of outdoor discovery. Located there are more beautiful woods with granite rock faces that drop down into more woods. Those woods have streams running through them with that are like an oasis to my wanderlust outdoor spirit. Needless to say this is an outdoorsmen’s dream casual playground that you don’t really have to go far for.
This passion for the outdoors, for adventure, for exploring, and for discovery is something that drove me as a child, young adolescent, and even young man.
Then it disappeared.
It was gone.
It had escaped me.
Something happened. Somehow it got lost. Somewhere along the path…it just…vanished.
I had experienced some difficulties in another area of my life that you wouldn’t expect to affect my passion for the outdoors and adventure, but it did. However, I didn’t realize it. I let it slip away right from under my nose. It was gone. And given my childhood and experiences growing up…that’s really quite sad. A passion lost. A desire faded.
But IT’S BACK!
After having lost my passion for the outdoors, consequently, my desire for adventure had also been suppressed, not gone, just suppressed. I actually didn’t realize this was happening. Not until the past few months of my life. I found myself driving through the Amazon Basin in Bolivia. Looking on either side of me I saw swamp that just stretched miles upon miles upon miles. This isn’t the stinky gross swamp that smells of stagnant water. This was pristine fresh water covered in floating greens, home to various beautiful birds, snakes of all kinds, cute rodents the size of your dog, alligators, and I’m sure much more.
It was breathtaking!
Every 2 minutes, it seemed I was in awe all over again. The beauty of this place was incredible. I was also reminded of the beauty of Ecuador, which I had experienced just 2 months before. The beautiful green mountains and cascading waterfalls that fell into the Pastaza River took my breath away. I remembered surfing in Lima, Peru and getting to teach and share that adventure with my brothers.
God was reigniting my thirst and desire for adventure. The great outdoors was a passion all over again.
Just a few weeks ago, I found myself flying over the Andes Mountains and glaciers nearly in tears as I experienced a revelation of the journey this has been. A journey to reignite a passion in my heart and refuel a desire that burns deep in any man’s soul. It’s almost as if God was doing all this behind the scenes and revealed to me the final product. As I flew over the Chilean Patagonia, I sat in the presence of God right in the middle of that plane holding back tears and praising Him for His goodness.
And just last week I found myself staring at a glacier in person. The next day, I found myself hiking the mountains of Torres del Paine National Park in the Chilean Patagonia. Every 2 minutes was a picture worthy moment. Upon reaching the top of that mountain I stood in front of Las Torres, three giant natural pillars of rock sitting atop a mountain and overlooking an aqua blue glacial lake.
The passion for the outdoors and the desire for adventure are back.
A part of my manly spirit and design has been restored.
This blog is not just a testimony of something God has done in my life. It is a call to other men out there.
Men! Wake up! Desire adventure! Search for it. Get out of your comfort zone. Ask God to reignite old passions and desires. Do something crazy. Don’t wait for your kids to move out before experiencing adventure again. Take them with you and experience adventure together. It will be good for them especially if you have sons.
Now, I leave you with a quote that I hope inspires you like it has me.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the things you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – H. Jackson Brown Jr.
