life's an adventure.

and God is the tour guide.

i sort of picture life as a safari in the wilderness of africa in one of those safari land rovers.

i imagine myself looking all tan and explorer-like in my olive green shorts, khaki vest, and big hat {nobody wants to get sunburned, right?} with a camera in hand and excitement in my heart.

now, God is sitting in the driver's seat and is telling me to sit in the back and look to the side. it is not my job to look ahead or strain my eyes toward what is coming; it's just my job to look at where i am at during that moment and enjoy it to its fullest. the problem is, when i am on this safari of life, i'm not very good at just looking at where i am at and enjoying it and making the most of it. either i turn around in my seat and long for the times past {after all, the grass is always greener} or strain my eyes to see where God is taking me.

he turns to me and says "please buckle your seatbelt. this could be bumpy, but i know what i'm doing. keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times so you don't get hurt. most importantly, trust that i know what i'm doing.

i smile and say "okay perfect. we've got this." unfortunately, after just minutes, i am anxiously sitting on the edge of my seat. i look ahead and see a fork in the path. my Tour Guide turns right. i thought we should have turned left. so i unfasten my seatbelt and attempt to hop in the front seat, saying "uhm come on...we were supposed to turn left back there!" he turns to me with a knowing smile on his face and replies nonchalantly "remember how you said you'd trust that my way was best?"

oh. yeah. that's right.

mentally kicking myself, i climb back into my seat and strap my seatbelt back on, promising to myself that i won't do that again.

so i enjoy the ride for a while. i soak up the sun and smile at my Tour Guide, knowing that he knows best for me. after a bit of time {a shorter period of time than i would like to admit to}, i am intently looking out the side of the land rover when something catches my eye. i unbuckle my seatbelt and, despite protests from my Tour Guide, hop out of the land rover. "just wait a second," i yell over my shoulder. "i've got to check this out." the thing that caught my eye keeps moving away, just out of my reach, so i begin to chase it. once i eventually catch the ever-elusive object, i realize that what i thought was so important and necessary was in fact useless. i reluctantly set down my sought after object and watch it scamper away. upon freeing the object of my desire, i look around and realize my Tour Guide was right there behind me all along and it was his whisper encouraging me to let my desire go.

i run back into his arms, feeling sheepish, and he carries me back to the land rover. i apologize, promising to never let that happen again, and he accepts my apology {but with a knowing smile on his face}. you see, over the course of my adventure, i do this same thing many times. each time, the Tour Guide helps me up, brushes me off, and carries me back to the land rover.

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i've come to the end of my time...i need to go get ready for the day. but i know that God will continue showing me what my adventure looks like and that i need to keep trusting him to be my Tour Guide through it all. there are times when my safari is wonderful. there are times when my safari is just plain difficult. but through it all, my Tour Guide is constantly there to love me, support me, and challenge me.