I never got poetry. Lord knows my English teachers tried. But when you throw in a melody, some harmony, and maybe even an orchestra, I am hooked. Music is the greatest gift! Music soothes and it heals. It changes a dull day to something joyful. And you don’t have to be talented to enjoy it. In my case, it is a tool God has used to comfort and inspire me time and time again.

One of the all time great songs in my life is Stephen Curtis Chapman’s Great Adventure with the Prologue on the album. Step back into 1992 and read a portion of what this song has to say.

We'll travel long, over mountains so high
We'll go through valleys so low
Still through it all we'll find that
This is the greatest journey that the human heart will ever see
The love of God will take us far beyond our wildest dreams

Saddle up your horses, we've got a trail to blaze
Through the wild blue yonder of God's amazing grace
Let's follow our leader into the glorious unknown
This is a life like no other, whoa whoa this is the great adventure

And here is a link to the song. Enjoy!

I love a good adventure story: Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, that sort of story. The elements of an adventure are the following: they have a hero, a quest, a villain, an unknown dangerous environment, a big risk and a transformation. This also perfectly describes a well-lived life of a Christian. Christ-following is not a boring life. It is a life lived to the fullest.

Stephen Curtis Chapman, who wrote the aforementioned song suffered an incredible tragedy years after writing it. The highs come with lows. Many of my friends are blessed with amazing marriages that some people look for their entire life and never find. Some of those same people are now living in the reality of widowhood, struggling everyday to try to pick up one foot and put it in front of the other. And I have seen those who have been given the strongest bodies struggling to survive another day of cancer. It seems the higher our highs or the bigger the blessings, the more pronounced the lows. I cannot explain it. I can’t understand it.

Life IS a great adventure full of majestic peaks and low dark valleys, boring endless deserts and beautiful boundless springs of joy. So what can we do about it? Hang on for the ride of your life and follow your Leader into the great unknown. Celebrate the highs, mourn the lows and realize that you are not in control. Adopt an attitude of joy in the big adventure because we know how the story ends.