I was blessed to speak at Middle School Chapel this past Wednesday and shared about something that I am captivated by and how that has affected my life.
I am captivated by adventure! Growing up, our family vacations were spent camping, hiking canoeing, riding our bikes, swimming in lakes and just spending time together as a family. While I grew up in South Dakota, most of these adventures took place in Minnesota where there were several campgrounds with forests, hiking trails and those 10,000 lakes! The first two photos below are of a 3-day canoe trip we took as a family up in Northern Minnesota by the Boundary Waters.
Now, my hometown of Watertown was a fun place to grow up but when one is an adult, it can be hard to find active adventures to participate in!
So, I found a friend, Jeanine, who was willing to join me on some adventures; cross-country skiing, downhill skiing, and sledding in a nearby cowfield. In the spring, I thought up a really good adventure! I love canoeing! So, why not canoe down the Big Sioux River!? This river curves through Watertown and there is a point where it is about 1/4 of a mile from our house near a bridge. We could have my dad drop us off on the West end of town and we would paddle through town, with most of our time being out into the country until we ended up by that bridge. I figured this would take us about 2 hours. We could even wear our swimsuits and get a nice tan once we got outside of town!
Jeanine thought I had mapped this course out and had even done this before! She thought I had planned out our trip and had a good idea of what we were doing! Um, not quite.
After a fairly easy start, we got caught on a dam right next to the Hwy 212 that goes through town. We had to get out and stand on the slippery rocks with our bare feet and manuever the canoe down. We wore flip flops and figured they would not do well standing on slippery rocks. Again, we got back in and were doing fine.
We made it out of town and were paddling in and out of farmer's fields; over and under some barbed wire fences. We made it to a gravel road where there is a spillway (the road is paved in case the river gets high so the water does not wash away the road). We had to get out at this point and portage (carry) our canoe across then got back in.
The photos above are of the spillway that my dad took a few days ago.
We made it to the last field where we saw some white cows grazing in the field on one side of the river. As we got closer, Jeanine noticed there was a bull! She exclaimed, "Karen, there's a bull! What do we do?" I replied, "Paddle! Just paddle!" What else was there to do? I thought we were safe as long as we stayed in the river. Right after mentioning this, the bull crossed the stream in front of us to the other side, turned and took a step in our direction. We kept going, hoping he would not decide to chase us. I am sure we were a strange sight!
We made it to our stopping point, in the same field but far enough away from the cows and bull. We pulled the canoe up the manure-encrusted bank and handed the canoe to my dad who was there already! Jeanine wondered if the electric fence was turned on and after testing it, found that it was! We crawled through between the electric fence and barbed wire fence very carefully and made it home safe!
Looking back, we never got a tan. It was May, but still cool. Jeanine remembers being hungry as we didn't bring any food or water. And I called the farmer the next day who owned those cows and bull and found out that that bull was a mild one and had just been exchanged with a tempermental bull the day before our trip. Oh, and it took us 5 hours, not 2! Jeanine fired me from creating adventures after that!
When I think of someone who goes after adventure in the Bible, I think of Peter walking on water. Peter was not a planner, he did not think ahead of time about the steps to take. Instead, he impulsively spoke and acted.
In Matthew 14: 22-29, we read,
"Immediately he (Jesus) made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, 'It is a ghost!' and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.'
And Peter answered him, 'Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.' He said, 'Come.' So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus."
I love how Peter asks Jesus to invite him or command him to come onto the water! Jesus says, 'Come.' and Peter steps onto the water! and he begins to walk toward Jesus! Peter had to take a step of faith, get out of the boat and stand up on that water. What do you think Peter was thinking as he stepped out on the water? Was he excited? Was he looking at Jesus as he stepped out in faith? Scripture says he got out and came to Jesus, so I imagine he was looking at Jesus as he was walking towards him ON THE WATER!! How amazing is it to think of Peter standing and walking on water! Would you have stepped out of the boat? On water that you knew was well over your head? If Jesus told you to 'Come', would you have stepped out and walked towards him?
As Peter was walking toward Jesus, he started to notice the wind around him. Peter took his eyes off Jesus and became fearful of the wind, then started to sink. How do you think Peter was feeling at this point as he is starting to sink? Do you think he was terrified? Scripture says he cried out to Jesus! I think Peter was really scared! Have you ever seen a grown man scared?
Matthew goes on to say in verses 30-33,
"But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, 'Lord, save me.' Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, 'O you of little faith, why did you doubt?' And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, 'Truly you are the Son of God.'
Do you notice that Jesus immediately reached out and took hold of Peter. He didn't stand idly by and wait for Peter to get a clue and begin to have faith again. Jesus acted. He reached out and pulled Peter back up. Wow! I can imagine that Peter was so relieved. Then, as they got in the boat, the wind ceased and they recognized that Jesus was the Son of God. No normal man could do any of this!
Like Peter, when I spontaneously planned that long-ago canoe trip, I did not think out the details well ahead of time. Yet, God stepped in and protected Jeanine and myself from a situation that could have gone very bad. That farmer changed out the tempermental bull and stuck a mild one in that field a day before our trip. Wow! God is truly amazing, isn't he?
When we look at Peter's life later in Acts when he is leading the church, we see a different Peter. He has matured in his faith and instead of being impulsively lead by his own passions, he is now being lead by the Holy Spirit.
I have come a long way from that canoe trip with Jeanine! Coming to BFA was a huge step of faith in my life. God laid a desire in my heart to teach in a Christian school overseas. In conversations with my Uncle David, I was encouraged to fill out applications for different Christian schools around the world and watch where God would open the door. Through dear friends who used to serve and teach here in the middle school several years ago, God opened the door wide for me to come, teach and serve here at BFA. When I look back at how God lead me here, I am truly amazed at his leading. There was a desire in my heart and I wasn't sure where it would lead but now when I look back, I say, 'Oh, wow God! This is what you had in store for me!'
I hope and pray that every one of you can also look back one day and be amazed at how God has lead you into the person (godly man or godly woman) that he desires you to be.
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