In need of an adventure...

Wow. I was reading my first posts from this blog--a series of posts describing my 14 day trip to Turkey. It was an amazing retrospective. I can't believe it's been a year and a half since that trip. That's unbelievable. It made me realize something: I need an adventure. That trip completely changed me for one reason--I left home.

I saw a whole different side of the world. In the aftermath, it changed so much of me: it changed my conception of myself, it increased my tiny Western worldview to a more complete worldview, it turned my political feelings upside down, and it changed my narrow perception of God. When I left the comfort of home, I had to sort of question everything about where I was from. Is it right the way our country treats most of the world? No. Is it right the way I lived my life? No. Is it right to define morality in our country by two issues (neither of which being the "poverty" issue)? No. Is God limited to the way we define him and worship him in America? No.

I questioned. I found answers. I saw people who begged for bread on the street. I saw "rich" people that seemed poor to me (by our poorest American standards). I saw people who were totally different from me and totally the same as me. I'm not even 100% sure what that means, but it just makes sense inside me. In all of this, I saw something different in me. I realized that I had to truly find myself--not in some new age mystical way. I needed to know why I believed what I believed--both mentally, politcally, and spiritually. When I did that, I found myself.

I found out what was important to me. I found out that God reigned supreme--even in the darkness. I found out that a life of significance for me involves being a person that deeply cares for the poor and the mistreated. I found out that the Republican Party is not God's chosen political party (in fact, I think God probably hates politcs to a certain extent). If I had never left Arkansas for even those short two weeks, I would still be what I was. That might sound good to some people, but it isn't.

I needed to leave comfort behind. I needed to leave familiarity behind. Even for two weeks. I had to see the world that the Walton's didn't build. I had to see a place where it wasn't safe to believe in Jesus. I couldn't have changed if I'd never seen the world outside of here--not that I haven't travelled a lot our country or lived in 5 other states. I just needed to do it.

When I was 16, I went to Saltillo, Mexico to study for a few weeks. I had to survive on my own--without my parents to help. It changed me. In fact, that was the time where my relationship with God went from the new/free trial period to a full subscription. When I was 20, I made the trip to Turkey. Now, I'm 22. I'm almost done with college. I think it's time to go somewhere. It doesn't have to cross any national borders or oceans. I need to strike out on my own. I found out who I would be in high school by going to Mexico. I found out who I would be in college by going to Turkey. Now, I have to found out who I'm going to be in life.

Sometimes, you just have to leave home.