When I first told people about the World Race and that I would be leaving for 11 months to travel to and be a missionary in 11 different countries with nothing but the contents of my backpack, most people thought I was a little bit crazy. I watched a movie this week that reminded me a lot of how I’ve felt during the process of applying for and then coming on the World Race. If you haven’t figured it out by now from reading my blog title, the movie is called The Crudes.
I’ll give you a short summary of the movie in case you haven’t seen it. It’s an animated movie about a caveman named Grug and his family the Crudes. Grug was a good daddy and very protective of his family. All of the other families in the area were getting killed for one reason or another, but not Crudes. Grug had one simple rule that his family lived by. “Never not be scared.” They were always hiding out in their cave because that is where they were safe.
The problem was Grug’s daughter Eep. She wasn’t content with living her life in the cave. She lived a safe life, but to her it was boring. She desired more. She wanted adventure. One night she ventured out of the cave to follow a light that she saw. It led her to a boy named Guy. Guy was a single young man who figured out how to survive in the wilderness because of his ideas and inventions. He tells Eep that the world is coming to an end and that he’s heading to a mountain where it will be safe.
The rest of the movie is about how the Crudes are forced to head to the mountain because their cave gets ruined. They learn valuable lessons during their journey and rely on Guy and his inventions to get them there. Grug struggles with change and resists many of the inventions until he realizes he has no other choice. At the end of the movie the family is forced to take a leap of faith towards the light even though they don’t know what will come of it. Before Eep goes, Grug tells her to “Never be afraid.”
I’d like to think I’m more like Guy than the Crudes. I would like my life to be adventurous. Guy lived his life by the motto his parents gave him. “Don’t hide, live!” Guy spends most of the movie with a fire when it is dark or following the sun. He moves forward in confidence when others fall back because of fear and a desire to be safe.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think life should be lived recklessly, but when you spend your whole life in a safe place, you end up like the Crudes. You might not be dying, but you’re also not really living. I don’t want my life to be one of safety and comfort. I want to spend it chasing the Son that gives light. That’s why I’m on this 11 month journey. It’s not safe, but it’s life giving and it’s amazing!
If you would like to help keep me on this journey, please click here and make a donation to my trip. I am about $500 shy of my $11,000 deadline that’s due on December 1. If I am unable to raise the funds, I’m in jeopardy of being sent home early.
