An Awfully Big Adventure (Part 1)

” To live will be an awfully big adventure.”

                           -Peter Pan

Growing up, this was always my favorite quote. It really encompassed a lot of messages all in one sentence. JM Barrie knew what he was talking about. As a child I had this idea of what my life should be like. I  thought I was going to travel the world and be spontaneous in nature and I was going to love constant change and moving around. I hated the idea of growing up and I thought I had the world mapped out. I wasn’t going to end up like most folks who paid bills and had full time jobs. I wasn’t going to need to worry about such things in life. I refused to be an adult. I didn’t want to grow up. I didn’t want responsibility and I didn’t want to stick around to build any sort of connection or relationship with anyone. 

You read this and almost laugh a little because you see “paying bills” and really, no one wants  to do these things. They are a part of life and also a price we pay for the privileges we enjoy. This goes for all areas in life. We clean our rooms because we don’t want to live in a mess. We feed our animals because we want to enjoy their use for recreation.. or to eat.. Either way, eventually I was going to have to grow up no matter how much I wished I could be like Peter Pan. He was my hero for a while there. I had read all the books and the different adaptations to them and yet, the older I get, the more I see the story of Peter Pan as a tragedy rather than a grand adventure where the hero saves the day.  Allow me to explain.

When we are children, we are inherently selfish. No one has to teach us how to hit because we didn’t get our way. We lie because we don’t care for an alternative. We steal because we want. All these traits are not simply learned. We learn to be kind. We learn to be patient. We learn to share. These things do not always come easy. Some learn faster than others that life is a lot better and more fulfilling when we do these things, but they are not always our first initial response. Ah, the brokenness of mankind. Yes, a sad tale indeed. But, I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s a tragedy just yet. Peter Pan was a boy. A boy who did boyish things, like picking on the girls for talking too much ;P or picking fights with adults. Peter Pan couldn’t be condemned simply for being a child. After all, children are expected to express these behaviors, but over time, we grow. We grow to see the error of our ways. We grow to experience pain and not wish it upon someone else. Yes. We grow and examine the people we once were and we laugh at our children when we remember how foolish we too once were. While sad we once were that way, it doesn’t last forever. We are humbled and lower our pride. No, the tragedy is not simply sin. The tragedy is not simply making mistakes or being selfish. Sad as it may be and downright heartbreaking at times, the real tragedy lies in refusal to grow and refusal to change. Peter Pan was a boy long enough and condemned those around him for being willing to grow. Peter Pan refused to admit he wasn’t always right. So caught up in his pride was he that he never truly felt any joy, love, or even sorrow. He was stagnant and numb.

I see this and I think of people today. Sin is a horrible thing and heartbreaking to see those you love trapped in it. But we know it doesn’t have to be that way. We don’t have to be trapped and entangled in our own sin. We know that we don’t know everything and that’s why we trust God who does in fact know everything. It is a sad thing that we sin and our sin separates from God. But God offers us a way out thru Christ. And we will still sin and we will still make mistakes,  even ones we thought we had learned from, but it is temporary and if we are willing to humble ourselves, we don’t have to live a life stuck and numb. It is because we grow, and we place our trust in Him rather than ourselves that we experience freedom and with that freedom comes a joy we can’t have without Him. Tragedy strikes when one has heard the good news and complains of being in the dark but refuses to ask for help in turning on the light. My heart breaks for those who know of Jesus but refuse to come before the throne of God and admit they were wrong. 

You see as you grow up, although work is hard and difficult, we do it because we know it’s necessary. We get excited for that promotion at a job we don’t necessarily “love” because we appreciate the responsibility. We enjoy the fact that we have purpose. We have children which are a lot of work, and requires more selflessness than anything and yet we do it because we experience pure joy and love. As Christians, we too have a responsibility to worship God in all His glory and share the gospel with others. It’s a big deal. And it shouldn’t be taken lightly. While that may seem scary, we get to enjoy life on a whole new level. Everything we feel and see touches our heart in a different way. Our joy and our sorrow is bigger. But that sorrow is felt differently than any way I can explain. Our hearts break for the world, yet we have  a peace and comfort in knowing God. Life just feels, fuller, because our hearts are full and overwhelmed by the blood of Jesus. 

I know I have a lot to say, and it’s been a while since I last wrote a blog. However, this blog has too much to unpack in just one, so get ready for part two!!

With all the love in the world

Brooke