If you’ve read much of my stuff before, you will know that I am a big cheerleader of the John 10:10 life. I believe that Jesus died, ultimately for us to spend eternity with him – no tears, no pain, no death, no sickness, no lack, ever, ever again!! I think it’ll be good and I think I’ll do cartwheels. But, I also believe that Jesus died for us to have an adventure before that day comes. If not, he’d have whisked us off to heaven on the day we said ‘yes’ to him. If you’ve ever watched adventure movies, you’ll know that the adventurous life isn’t a life without storms, fighting or drama – it’s not just about the romance, the happy ending and that ‘at last’ kiss that we girls long for (Pride and Prejudice comes to my mind!). The point is, it’s full, exciting and not dull. I think it should be the same way for those of us who have put our faith in the Son of God, in the creator of the whole universe who chose to live in us, by his spirit. Surely. Beware though, the adventure might mean you have to make saying, ‘goodbye’ a regular feature in your life. For us, we have that life. If you don’t know us, we spend most of our year in Tanzania, East Africa and the rest in the UK. This means that we say goodbye to friends and family a lot and it never gets easy.

We began the ‘goodbye’ journey back in the late 90’s when we first moved to Tanzania with our six and seven-year-olds in tow. Everyone was fine until the moment, then we all lost it! It was tough and it continues to be so. John and I now have to say goodbye to our kids and their spouses because they’re not physically with us on this particular adventure. Modern technology has made it easier, I must admit, and the fact that we are mostly only away for a few months at a time, but even so, it’s still difficult. Our parents are not getting any younger and you do wonder, what if? As we said goodbye this last time, I felt God was talking to me about this side of the adventure and that it’s all part of it. If we’d never said goodbye to familiarity back in 1998, we would never have experienced the 1000’s of hellos we’ve experienced since that day. If we want new hellos, it might mean some goodbyes. I’m not suggesting for a moment that you should all up and emigrate, (unless you want to, then do it), but I am encouraging you to find some new hellos. Ask yourself the question, when was the last time you said hello to someone new? If it’s been a while, then I think you’re missing out. Get out there; there are a whole host of people to meet and to influence. We met some great people last year in Tanga, Tanzania – we never knew they existed, but we already know they will be life-long friends. Increase your circle and you will increase your life. Don’t let the thought of goodbye, hold you back. There are adventures to be lived.

Tears, Spaghetti and Angels     book by Deb, if you’d like to read more….