Colleen Orchanian

I am listening to a podcast series by Dr. Jordan Peterson about wrestling with God. He says that God is the Voice of Adventure, calling us to a grand adventure in life.

That reminds me of the Narnia stories by C.S. Lewis, especially the last book, The Last Battle. (If you haven't read the entire series lately, I encourage you to do so.) In the last book, the main characters go on an adventure to the end of the world. There is a point when they have to choose to go further on or to stay behind. All but one person goes forward, and the one who stays behind regrets it forever. He regrets that his fear caused him to miss out on what would have been the grandest adventure of his life.

What is a grand adventure? That is when God, the Voice of Adventure, calls you to something more, something that is not easy. Something that is not comfortable. Something that will require sacrifice. Something that may be scary and a bit dangerous.

God doesn't call us to a life of leisure. That leads us to selfishness, sloth, laziness, and boredom. And boredom often leads to sin. God doesn't call us to that. He calls us to greatness, as Pope Saint John Paul II said.

Then what is greatness? There are so many examples in the saints: Mother Teresa, who accepted the Divine call to adventure, moving into the slums of Calcutta to care for the dying and forgotten; the great martyrs throughout the centuries, who gave their lives for the faith, who died rather than renounce their faith; the Jesuits missionaries who went to North America and Asia to share the Good News and were tortured and killed. Those are some grand adventures.

But not all adventures are like that. My friend, Steve Smith, started a ministry called To The Nations, which now serves the poor in Uganda. He started on that adventure because God called him at age 65 to go to Haiti after an earthquake and take care of the orphans.

Other adventures seem very ordinary, but take extraordinary grace, like being open to life—having a large family. There are financial challenges, space challenges, chaos, and heartache. It requires a lot of sacrifice. Yet couples continue to say Yes to God.

God is calling you to a grand adventure. It could involve travel, like Abraham leaving his father's house and becoming the father of many nations. Or maybe it's serving your family, like Joseph and the Virgin Mary.

How do we make this grand adventure?

1. Listen for God's voice. He calls us to something bigger than ourselves. He may not call you audibly, but He will plant an idea and a desire. That idea and desire will be out of your comfort zone. It will call you to be something more than who you are today, to do something you are not equipped for, to change your plans. He called my husband and me in our retirement years to foster two children. Our plan was to spend our retirement touring around on motorcycles, free of responsibilities. But God gave us something else. A grand adventure.

2. Receive the idea and embrace it. Don't reject it. Fear might keep us from doing that. Other people might question our sanity. They might suggest a lesser adventure, one where we can play it safe. This happened to my friend Steve with To The Nations. Our pastor cautioned him that he was a little too old at 65 to travel to Haiti, which had primitive living conditions with no electricity or running water. Wouldn't it be better to just send some money? But Steve had heard God clearly. He was to physically go to Haiti. And he did. Know that there is nothing better to do with your life than follow God's will.

3. Acknowledge the risks. Grand adventures always have risks. Courage isn't about fearlessness. My soon-to-be 8-year-old Noah sometimes complains that he can't do something because he is afraid. I tell him that courage is doing it even when you are afraid. If we can say that to a child, we must say it to ourselves. Noah doesn't have to be afraid because I will protect him. I don't have to be afraid because I know God is with me. And even when I am afraid to step out of my comfort zone, I will do it anyway because God knows what He's doing. I trust in Him more than I trust myself. The other part of acknowledging risks is to take the necessary precautions without diminishing the adventure to which we have been called. We aren't supposed to be reckless.

4. Make the necessary sacrifices. Every adventure requires sacrifice. When we choose one thing, we by default give up something else. If I choose to go on a retreat, I am sacrificing time with my family. If I choose to share my testimony of faith, I have to sacrifice some of my ego, because I need to be honest about my journey, and I don't look so good in many parts of this journey. It could be a financial sacrifice. I know many who have spent a lot to support a ministry. Sometimes the sacrifice is a friendship or a family relationship. If all of your friends are atheists, and you convert to Christianity, you may lose a lot of friends. We must be willing to surrender everything that gets in the way of God's plan.

5. Go forward without knowing the whole picture. Abraham left his home, along with his whole family and livestock. God told him to go, and He would let him know when to stop. I like to know my final destination and all the trials I might face along the way. But God in His wisdom doesn't give us all that. He knows we might chicken out. So we get just one step. We go where God tells us to today and don't worry about where we will be tomorrow. This is a hard way to live. It takes complete trust in God.

6. Praise God on the journey and praise Him for the grand adventure. Don't worry that you haven't got it right yet. That's not the goal. If you follow His prompting, you are doing it right. Thank Him for the adventure. Keep listening. The challenges we face make us stronger. As a mom, I want to protect my adult son from all troubles and struggles, but if I don't let him go on his own unique God-given adventure, how will he grow? How will he gain strength? How will he learn to love and trust God? So I praise God and pray.

That's how we go on the grand adventure.

What adventure is God calling you to? It could be related to a ministry. Maybe you are supposed to take a leadership role in a group at church, and that's intimidating because you think you aren't up to the job. That's a grand adventure.

Maybe you are being called to run for a position on your local school board, to correct some of the radical policies and curriculum that have infected our children. That's a grand adventure.

Maybe God is calling you to the diaconate, priesthood, or religious life. He wants more of you. He wants you to live a life of service. That's a grand adventure.

Maybe God is inviting you to see your marriage and family as a grand adventure. To be more vulnerable with your husband or wife. To initiate family prayer. To read the Bible together. To go on a marriage retreat. We aren't supposed to play it safe in our marriages. Marriage can be so much more.

Maybe God is calling you to walk into that meeting for the first time - an AA meeting, Catholics in Recovery, or AlAnon. Admitting your weakness and pursuing healing is a grand adventure.

So… again… what is the grand adventure to which God is calling you? And what is holding you back from going?

Chances are there is some kind of fear present. Can you name it? It could be fear of failure. Fear of looking foolish. Fear of rejection. Fear of physical harm. Fear of the financial costs. Fear that you are too old or too young. Fear that you are unqualified to do it. That was me. I was unqualified to do a podcast, write a book, or post a blog. And somehow I have done all three. I may still be unqualified, but I'm doing it. It's a grand adventure.

So name your fears. Bring them before God in Adoration and ask for help.

The Bible tells us that perfect love casts out fear. God is perfect love. Get to know Him so that you can trust Him in the fear. When I am about to lead a retreat, sometimes I'll hear a voice telling me I'm not ready, or it's going to go poorly, or they won't like me. I quickly silence that voice by talking to the Holy Spirit, asking for help, and trusting that whatever happens will be fine. Maybe not what I planned, but it will be fine because God is in charge. And the fear is gone. God can take away your fear, too.

The Voice of Adventure is calling you. The Voice of Love is calling you. Say yes. Take that first step and follow the call. You will not regret it.

Questions for prayer:

1. What grand adventure has God called you to in the past? How did you grow from that?

2. What grand adventure is God calling you to right now?

3. What is holding you back from saying yes to God?