First, read Part 1!
I left that secret pasture, telling the Lord that I wanted to live a life of adventure with Him. I know He heard me because not two seconds after rounding the corner I saw five nine-to-seven-year-olds girls running straight towards me. Sweet Tabitha, Rebecca, Cristina, Andreea, and Estella (Pastor Ion’s girls and their friends) came bounding towards me with their arms extended. They grabbed my hands and pulled me back the way I had come. Not taking no for an answer, they led me across a creek, up hills, down hills, under trees, across the creek again, and through fields. We were on a hunt for adventure!
As we walked through the trees, they would pick wildflowers and hand them to me. Soon enough, I was holding a bouquet of all sorts of flowers, bursting with reds and purples and pinks!
We climbed to the top of a hill covered with red poppies, picking them as we went. Once we made it to the top, we turned around and raced each other down the hill.
After romping through fields of tall grass and unsuspecting but actually quite sharp and dangerous leaves, and we found ourselves at the bottom of a daunting hill. We then began the ascent up the steepest hill I’ve ever attempted to climb – not to mention in flip-flops while holding a bouquet of wildflowers. We then proceeded to blaze our own trail through a previously undisturbed thicket of brush and vines.
We then found ourselves standing on the edge of the hill from the other side. As daunting as it was to climb up the hill, it was even more terrifying to gaze at the slope of this hillside. Without a second thought, Tabitha and Rebecca take hold of my wrists and drag me down this hillside.
Only by the grace of God did I survive our little adventure still standing on my two feet and without even a scratch or a bruise. All I had was a broken flip-flop. And it was totally worth it.
The finale to our grand expedition was a stop at the coolest well I have ever seen! This well looked like it was straight out of the medieval times. In a team effort, we pulled the bucket up and each took a drink of the cold, refreshing well water. Then we poured the rest of the water into the trough next to the well and splashed our feet around in it until there was none left.
Never have I felt so old and yet so young. I felt like the little girl in me finally got to experience the imagination, freedom, and adventure that had been drowned out by adulthood. But that day I was reminded that the Lord wants to have fun with me. He wants to take me through fields of wildflowers and barreling down grassy green hills. He wants me to embrace my inner child and appreciate the little things, like a vibrant red poppy or a splash in cool well water. There are so many little treasures planted in our paths that we can only see when we look at the world with the eyes of an adventurous child!
The really good photos in this blog are courtesy of Amanda Tuten and Annie Heathorn
