“The monkeys are going to get me!”
–Rachel, age 4, after having nightmares about the Wizard of Oz
–Mom, age now, while riding home from church last week
The sounds of animated gorillas in hot pursuit came from the front passenger seat and soon after, my mom met her virtual demise. Of course she ended up with the high score, so I am still proud.
Someone somewhere has made a lot of money on the seemingly simplistic game called Temple Run. Made for portable touch screen devices, the objective is to guide the little running man through sharp turns, under overhangs, and over tree roots. If you mess up, the monkeys catch you or you fall into an abyss.
It is actually kind of addicting.
I was watching my mom play on the ride home, and at one point she gained enough points to become “invincible” for a short time. The little man obtained a blue halo around himself, and he was able to run right through the tree roots, make every turn, jump every crater. The monkeys were no match for this blue blob of domination. And as I was watching the little guy automatically advance through all of the obstacles, I watched my mom lose her intensity and relax her hand.
Because the challenge was gone.
Challenges come with stress, pressure, uncertainty. Challenges make us fight for what we want, figure out who we are, and strive to become something better.
I had heart palpitations from nerves the night before the state track meet my senior year of high school. I could hardly focus last Wednesday to answer the NCLEX's first tutorial question "what color is an orange?"
But then, the moment when the race is won or the test is passed is the best feeling in the world. Knowing that an accomplishment was not just handed out allows for a sense of pride that there was work put in to reach that goal.
It would be nice if life came with an invincibility tool, a way to make sure I get over all of the tree roots in my way without flying off the side of the castle.
As I bask in these last six days in the States, I know that a challenging year is ahead. I will feel every bug bite, bounce through every bumpy border crossing, endure sickness, and have my heart broken for what breaks His.
Sometimes invincibility would be nice.
But that would take all the fun out of it.
But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness…that is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."–2 Corinth. 12:9-10
Sidenote–So glad I have gotten the chance over this last week to say goodbye to so many cool people. Launch July 3 in DC!
