On the Road

A couple of weekends ago I ventured to southern North Dakota for a friend's wedding (and what a lovely wedding it was). I had never driven to this small town before and I was navigating it alone, but I was prepared with my Google Maps directions. So on a beautiful summer morning I hit the highway in my Honda and ventured into uncharted territory...or at least uncharted to me.

I had no problems arriving at my destination, but there were moments of doubt in my head that I was on the wrong road and that I was going the wrong direction. I knew I wasn't, but still I had reservations from time to time and panic would pang my heart. I thought this was interesting because how often in life do we feel this way? We know where we need to go and how to get there and when we start progressing towards our destination we think we're all wrong and that we should go back.

It'd be so easy to go back. Easier yet, to stay where we are. That fear of getting lost, of getting it wrong can be paralyzing. The misleading comfort in routine can be intoxicating. But I think we need to trust ourselves more. We need to trust that we are prepared for adventure and lean on our faith. We need to believe in what we feel so deeply about in our hearts and not disregard it as silly--or let others do the same. Because if we do succumb to that fear and turn back, or we stay put our souls are hungry for more and we end up maintaining a life instead of really living life. We feel empty, inadequate, fake. We feel lost even though we know exactly where we are.

Maybe we need to get lost in order to be found. Maybe we need to get it wrong in order to understand what is right for us. And maybe the journey will be treacherous, long, and dangerous, but doesn't that sound a bit thrilling? Doesn't that sound like a wonderful opportunity to learn more about ourselves, our faith, our world?

I Believe

With all of my heart...

• I believe in God.
• I believe that life ultimately comes down to two decisions. To do nothing or to do something. I want to do something.
• I believe in myself, though I forget that now and then.
• I believe that you can be the best at anything, but that you are never better than anyone.
  
• I believe that ice cream temporarily heals nearly all wounds.
  
• I believe in love at first sight and that love is blind. So how does that work?
• I believe that nothing is impossible.
• I believe that kids are smarter than adults in matters of the heart because their point of view has not been manipulated, tarnished, or skewed.
• I believe in the strength of the human spirit.
• I believe that everyone needs someone to drive them nuts because it actually keeps you sane, it keeps you grounded.
• I believe that nothing is coincidental.
• I believe that there is more good than bad, despite what I see in the media everyday, it's just that we emphasize the bad. And I believe that is absolutely silly.
  
• I believe that everyone secretly loves at least one Britney Spears' song.
• I believe that dreams do come true. It's just a matter of whether or not we wake up.
• I believe that spandex makes or breaks a superhero.
  
• I believe that pain is a necessary evil because it alerts us when something is wrong. If we didn't know something was wrong how would we be able to correct it?
• I believe that we can all make a positive and substantial impact on the people and world around us.
• I believe that God has made us all more than capable.