time to get out

What do you call it when lots of similar things line up?  You know, when one after another, people present you with the same kind of thought or idea, or opportunity after opportunity seem to roll across your desk/screen/phone?  I’m not talking weak sauce, like you heard an ad for an online dating service on the same day that a re-run Sean and Gus solve the one about the reality dating show and your fortune cookie said something about a romantic encounter, so you naturally assume that you’re supposed to ask out the hot girl from your campus ministry.

I’m talking about serious alignment, convergence, and serendipitous happenings…

Every year I have this thought that I need to get out more.  There’s something inside me that cannot get over, escape, evade, or ignore.  I feel fully alive when I’m in the outdoors.  In my former life I was Outdoor Guy; now I’m more accurately Guy Who Has Lots of Unused Outdoor Gear.  I find it in my journal when I write about what makes me tick, where I experience God, where I feel challenged.  I’ve been wrestling with this idea, this compelling thought about outdoor stuff for years.

I talk with my buddy Andy about it every few months.  He’s patient and listens well, and he gets me.  We’ve done lots of fun/stupid stuff together over the years.  He knows the truth of which I speak.  As we sat in his backyard last week, it was the same conversation… we’ve got to get out.

Today I had coffee with another friend, a new friend who is jumping into all kinds of adventures.  He’s trading the traditional “go to school, get a job” route for one less travelled.  He’s piecing the employment together to include some time as a flyfishing guide, because that’s where he believes he’s got the best opportunity to connect with God, and to help others do the same.  We talked about Wild at Heart, our shared “coming alive” experiences in the wild, and the blessing of living in Central PA, where we have a little bit of everything outdoorsy, and most of it’s pretty good if not great.

Every time I mention an drive to go climbing/caving/hiking/paddling/exploring to almost any group of people I get a positive response.  Last year a friend wanted me to help write a book about the value of a wilderness experience as a rite of passage, as a formative part of being a man.  Other people always want to jump in and share some adventure.

Coincidence?  Happenstance?  I don’t think so.  In fact, I’m working on a plan even now.  I want to get out, to experience God in the beauty of his creation, to test myself, to unplug, to be free to think and feel and live and love, to remind myself of what really matters…

Anybody want to go with me?