"Adventure is worthwhile in itself." - Amelia Earhart

While I don't know exactly what Amelia meant by her statement, I can certainly share what it means to me.

Adventure. What does that bring to mind? Plans, maps, packing, preparing, anxiety, excitement, freedom, peacefulness, hope. An adventure is simply not the action of going to a new place, but the entire process of getting to said place. Maybe it isn't even a place at all. Maybe it's a state of mind, or a way of life, or a fulfilled dream. The adventure of a college education. The adventure of parenting. The adventure of backpacking through Europe. All considered an adventure, all very different.

I'm realizing that it's not really what the end result will be that is the most important. It's how I wind my way through the maze of preparing that is actually teaching me the most. I have a love/hate relationship with that "preparing" part. Most days I love it. I get to share my calling with people. I get to piece together a team of supporters. I get to imagine what my very-near future will look like. And then I have a moment of panic. I look at the very long list of things that need accomplishing before I leave. I look at a budget that has yet to be funded. In those moments I feel overwhelmed, but when I calm down, I realize that I'm glad for the stress. I learned something new (or very old that I just can't seem to grasp) about myself, my relationship with Christ, my calling. It is in these self-reflections that I realize how far I am from being fully prepared to take the mission field and yet how far I have come.