My love for adventure started as a child, my imagination was always roaming the endless possibilities of this life. From the influence of the people around me to the social influences such as school, books and movies. My mind has explored the vast lands of make believe and reality.
My love for adventure, I believe comes first from the Fathers heart, as the Creator - He has brought us into a world full of his intrinsic beauty. It's worth embracing and exploring.
Second, God brought into my life a man that was the definition of adventure. He was a wild soul, untameable in a tame world -- my dads best friend, whom I called Uncle Maurice. (Pictured- in the distance)
He taught me to be brave in the great outdoors, to take the opportunity to learn new things and embrace the beauty in Gods creation.
He passed away when I was still young, my opportunity for adventure died with him.
I mourned his death, I mourned the abrupt stop to exploring the forest from the heights of the trees. Emotionally and physically I suddenly felt like a wild animal, caged for the first time.
As a grown up I have found my way back into nature, into the forest, the mountains that call to me as I recognized the deep connection to Gods creation that serves best -- without arguing or complaining. Nature does exactly what HE created it to do, in all his Glory, it sings his praise. Every moment I step among the trees I am reminded of my uncle, of the time he spent showing me the forest, helping me safely explore the world as she was intended to be, without fault. My heart is thankful for God and his presence in my child like heart, for the people of impact that he places in our lives even when we fail to see the truth shining through. I lost my uncle to suicide after a head injury that resulted from a tree that fell on him.
The depths of grief are bigger than us, but the God who fills the void has a way of reminding us, that his plan is ultimately for our good. I no longer ask the question of "why" but now I offer praise and thanks to the God that gave me a person of impact. Yes, the years were few -- but they were filled with incredible memories and inspiring moments of a man who loved adventure, and chose to invest in the rising generation. By taking the time to pass along his passion for the great outdoors.
Are you allowing God to use you as a person of impact in the lives of those around you? You may not know the little eyes that are watching, learning and understanding their place in the world because of the impact you have made on them.
I doubt my uncle truly knew the impact he made on me, and though I cannot tell him now -- I honour him with every moment I spend in Gods creation, and I pass along the same passion with those littles that I get the honour of walking with today.
We have the ability to uplift and encourage the rising generations, to instil in them a heart of compassion, adventure and belonging. Darkness may be pulling for our littles attention, but it will not succeed if we allow the light to cause a greater impact.
Go shine Gods light in a world marked by destruction.
Be a person of impact.
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