BEWARE. "HOLIDAY" AHEAD | Previous Challenge Entry

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TITLE: BEWARE. "HOLIDAY" AHEAD | Previous Challenge Entry
By Kathy Harder
05/29/07
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Susan could hardly believe the time had already arrived. It seemed to sneak up on her every year but this year’s quick entrance seemed to surprise her more than usual. Maybe last year’s recovery period had taken longer or maybe she had purposely blocked the thought from entering her mind but here it was on the prowl again.

When Susan had married Jim, one of the first things she discovered about the male gender was that somewhere deep inside of every man there lurks an adventure just dying to give birth, or in Jim’s case exuberantly erupt. Maybe there really was something to that rumor about men needing to answer “the call of the wild”. It was unbeknownst to her how it happened, but somehow she found herself right smack in the middle of his “little” escapades year after year. With summer’s arrival just looming around the corner she knew it was the perfect breeding grounds for her swashbuckler husband to kick into action and start fervently scheming this year’s “holiday” season. Susan thought of her husband’s catchy holiday motto, “If you don’t come home more tired than when you left, you couldn’t have had any fun!” This aspiration of his was easily achieved each “holiday”.

Susan reflected on the past adventures she had participated in and wondered if there was possibly anything left out there “to conquer”. They had single handedly put out a forest fire, survived a rogue wave crashing over their canoe, and recovered their truck as it floated down the river heading out to sea. It was hard to believe that happened just last year. Then there was that grueling hike where they were stalked by the mountain lion, the brutal windstorm that blew their tent and gear away, and their truck battery dying in the middle of the dense forest. The harrowing list seemed endless and she quickly shook her head in wonder.

Susan thought enviously of her friends enjoying their “real holiday”, lying beside the pool at their tropical five star hotels. They always seemed to arrive home, bronzed, relaxed, and free of bandages and insect bites.
Unfortunately her daydreams were loudly interrupted and that time of year was ushered in once again as Susan heard her husband enthusiastically announce, “Hey, hon. There’s a long holiday weekend coming. How about if we pack up and head to the beach?”

Susan’s thoughts immediately turned to God and wondered if He enjoyed adventures too. Jim had adamantly insisted that He must. “After all”, he had stated, “Look at the amazing world God created and all the things out there for us to see and do. He created them for us to enjoy and sometimes we just have to venture out a little farther to find them.” Jim did have one thing wrong. The adventures never seemed to have trouble finding us and we did not even have to venture far from home.

Susan suddenly realized that it was during these “holiday” adventures that she had grown closer to God and that her prayer life was always continuously flowing. Every time she had stepped out of her “safety net” and participated in an adventure she had felt God’s presence and His hand holding hers. She had to trust God completely and rely on Him every minute of the day.

It was during these adventures that God had taught her the biggest lessons in life and showed her how big He really is. He had demonstrated to her over and over again that He is faithful to shelter and watch over her each time she stepped out of her comfort zone, for adventure’s sake. She knew now with certainty that He would be there for her each time she stepped out of her comfort zone, for His sake. It was through these experiences that Susan had learned how to step out confidently and courageously wherever she went and with whatever she endeavored. It is pretty hard to learn these things lying comfortably beside a pool. Susan came to the conclusion that God must enjoy adventures and probably desires each of us to embark on one every now and then. After all, He knows it’s a great way to spend time getting to know Him.

Susan started sorting out the camping gear and wondered why she actually allowed herself to be subjected to such adventures. Could she in some sort of strange way actually enjoy them too? Now that was a real scary thought.

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