New Adventures Together

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” *

Throughout our 37 years of marriage, Al and I have had many wonderful adventures together. In fact, one of his favorite queries is “We’ve had many wonderful adventures together, haven’t we?” usually right in the middle of trying something new and different.

Thanks to his adventuresome spirit, we have gone to many fantastic places, have tried a variety of activities, except for bungee jumping and sky diving, and have experienced amazing adventures together. Without his prompting, I would have taken the safe road, the comfortable one that was familiar and not too painful… missing out on those experiences.

One Saturday afternoon, Al suggested that we play pickleball, a senior-friendly sport similar to tennis, and frisbee golf at our neighborhood park. Both of those were new to us, but seemed enjoyable and fairly easy. It turned out to be too windy for a game of pickleball though. Trying to hit the light wiffleballs with a wooden paddle over the net was nearly impossible that day.

I thought it was also too windy for frisbees and was ready to get back in the car; however, Al wanted to try out the frisbee golf course. So, we walked over to the first tee and read the rules posted on a sign there before “teeing off.”

Those rules must have been written before the park’s landscaping crew had cleared out some unwanted trees, leaving a tangled mess of branches and logs on either side of the path. On our first throw towards the cage, about 190 feet away from the tee, both of our frisbees landed in the brambles. Mine only went a short distance before coming to rest under a log, not due to the wind but to my wimpy throwing.

The rule stated that a player had to throw the frisbee from the spot where it landed, making my second shot difficult. Forget the par three! Unfortunately, Al lost his balance and took a tumble headfirst into the bushes when he tried to retrieve his frisbee from behind a tree. That was pretty scary; however, he was okay, got up on his feet and managed to land his disc on the path, much closer to the cage than mine.

I grumbled about the roots, branches, logs and brush as we followed the path around Beverly Pond, with many forays into the wilderness to fetch our frisbees. To add to the challenge, two of the tees were located on Beverly Hill, one of the very few hills in our area. It was grassy, thankfully, with steps along both sides.

When we reached the top, there was a man alternating between jumping rope feverishly and running down to the bottom and back up again.

“What are you training for?” I yelled above the wind.

“Old age!” he hollered back, starting another series of jumps.

“Well I have news for you,” Al responded, laughing. “I’m there, so you’d better train hard!”

It was easier throwing downhill—the wind and the slope helped the frisbees roll, gaining extra distance. But even then, I never managed to make par. After completing that hole and another one, we had to walk to the top of Beverly Hill again to a tee that faced the opposite direction.

As we teed off and started down the other side of the hill, we waved good-bye to the fellow in training. “Don’t forget, I’m over the hill!” yelled Al. Well, that’s questionable. However, I was ready to call it a day.

He wanted to complete all nine holes so we kept going. The last three were on the grassy lawn, without any major obstacles except for a few trees directly in the line of the cages. We had an enjoyable time, in spite of the tumble and a few stiff muscles the next day.

 Al’s attitude of finding out what he can do and trying new things is inspiring, not only in terms of what can be done in the physical realm, but in the spiritual realm as well.  God has great plans for us. We only have to be willing to move from inertia to action! Are you ready to experience “many new adventures together” with Him? Am I?

*Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV