More Than Words

Adventure taught me how to be a guide. God taught me how to be a man.

If you've been reading Soul Weathered for very long, you may have noticed that I write a lot about the heart.

About grace.

About fear.

Joy.

Fatherhood.

Walking with God.

Sometimes I wonder if someone reading these reflections might think,

"This guy writes a lot about feelings."

And they'd be partly right.

But I also want you to know something about me.

I've been an adventurer all my life.

From the time I was a little boy, I wanted to explore.

I wanted to climb the mountain.

Cross the river.

Follow the trail.

See what was around the next bend.

That desire never left.

If anything, God only deepened it.

Over the years, I've had the privilege of experiencing adventures that still leave me shaking my head.

I've stood in places of incredible beauty.

I've also stood in places where I wasn't sure I was coming home.

I've weathered snowstorms.

Flash floods.

Flood-stage rivers.

Lightning.

Rattlesnakes.

Black bears.

I've been charged by animals.

I've helped rescue men who nearly drowned.

I've cared for men suffering from hypothermia.

Altitude sickness.

Kidney stones.

Heart problems.

Severe dehydration.

I've helped carry injured men out of the wilderness.

I've spent nights wondering how we were all going to get home safely.

I've seen fear.

Real fear.

People sometimes ask me why I keep going back.

Why continue leading trips where things can go wrong?

The answer is simple.

Because I love it.

I truly do.

When I'm standing in a river with a fly rod...

Or leading a group through the mountains...

Or watching a man discover something about himself that he never knew...

I'm home.

One of my daughters once told me,

"Dad, you're in your glory out there."

She was right.

I am.

But over the years, I've realized something.

God wasn't simply giving me adventures.

He was preparing me.

Every mountain.

Every river.

Every rescue.

Every difficult decision.

Every dangerous moment.

He was teaching me how to guide.

Not just through wilderness trails.

But through the wilderness of life.

Today, I spend as much time walking beside men in their marriages, their families, their failures, and their faith as I do walking beside them on a trail.

And honestly...

I've discovered they're not all that different.

Sometimes a man is lost in the woods.

Sometimes he's lost in his own heart.

Sometimes both.

The wilderness has taught me something about God.

He's there.

Not just on Sunday mornings.

Not just in church.

He's there when the weather turns.

When someone gets hurt.

When fear rises.

When a decision has to be made.

When everyone else is looking for someone to lead.

I've experienced His calm in moments that should have produced panic.

His wisdom when I didn't know what to do.

His strength when mine had run out.

That's why I don't simply write about these things.

I've lived them.

I'm still living them.

In fact, adventure hasn't stopped.

Just yesterday I found myself being attacked by two dogs while walking through a neighborhood.

Life still has a way of reminding me that we never know what today's adventure may hold.

When God placed Adam in the garden, He gave him work to do.

He told him to cultivate it.

To care for it.

To exercise dominion.

From the very beginning, God placed man in a world that required courage, responsibility, and engagement.

I believe He still does.

He has placed that same adventurous heart within us.

Not so we can chase danger.

But so we can courageously step into whatever He places before us.

Some days that adventure looks like crossing a mountain pass.

Some days it looks like sitting beside your wife when she's hurting.

Some days it looks like praying with a friend.

Some days it looks like leading your children.

Some days it looks like facing your own fears.

The older I get, the more I realize the greatest adventures aren't always found in the wilderness.

They're found in saying "yes" to God.

Because I've never once followed Him somewhere that wasn't an adventure.

"Be strong and courageous... for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." — Joshua 1:9