ADVENTURE REFLECTIONS by Nicole Byrum

I am a therapist and writer who is passionate about family, faith, and recovery. I am the author of Remade: Living Free, a book that explores topics related to substance abuse, recovery, and unhealthy relationships from a biblical perspective.

As I thought about the theme for this month’s issue, I had a difficult time narrowing down what to write about. Although I don’t have the kind of experiences chock full of exotic destinations or a plethora of riveting tales, I do have a life full of God’s faithfulness. And as I consider the sequence of my life events more carefully, I can see a beautiful life of adventure providentially orchestrated by my heavenly Father.

Sometimes the onset of adventure looks like broken dreams. I can truly say the beginning of my adult life started with the loss of a dream. All throughout my senior year of high school, I had enthusiastically envisioned attending one particular private Christian university in Indiana. I was so sure this college was the place for me and was thrilled when I opened my letter of acceptance. So imagine my devastation when I received a dismal “financial aid” package later that spring. Let’s just say the $500 a year they were offering me wasn’t going to cut it. I was heartbroken.

To make a long story short, I happily landed at Huntington University, another small, private Christian liberal arts college in Indiana. Believe me, I am forever grateful for this. Not only do I cherish memories of friendships, cross-country, and track seasons, and hold my education in high regard, but I am indebted for the opportunity of meeting my husband, Greg.

Adventure is sometimes an actual adventure. One month after I graduated from Huntington Greg and I were married, and two weeks after returning from our honeymoon we traveled halfway across the country to Abilene, Texas to start our new life together. I never imagined living in Texas, but there I was, 22, married, and attending graduate school at Abilene Christian University. Those two years in the Lonestar state were absolutely an adventure: new culture, new people, new sites and experiences... new everything! It was a fantastic way to begin married life, and those years set the stage for the next chapter of our story.

Joy in the ordinary adventures of life. The following years were characterized by settling into adult life and working full time towards my licensure as a marriage and family therapist. The last 14 years have centered on all the normal things of adult life: work, family, kids, and friends. Sure there have been great vacations and times of extraordinary fun, but I think the real adventure of it all has been in the everyday happenings of being a wife, mother, and therapist.

To be sure, the routine of the daily grind is not always glamorous. There have been countless moments of frustration and of questioning my effectiveness in all three of these roles. But I can’t think of a more worthy adventure, for this is the adventure God has called me to—the adventure He set the stage for all those years ago. It is the adventure of making Christ known to my children and of showing His love to my clients. The adventure of serving my spouse in covenant love.

The greatest adventure of all. As I sit at my computer typing this brief synopsis of my life, I can’t help but think of the lyrics, “All my life you have been faithful, and all my life you have been so, so good.” Every time I hear this description of the goodness of God, one word resounds in my mind: “Yes.” For whether in blessings or trials, He continuously works all together for my good and His glory. Faithful He has been, and faithful He will be. Yet I know the adventures of this world will pale in comparison to the adventures in store for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. For those in Christ, the greatest adventure is yet to come; for an eternity with him will be the greatest adventure of all.

They also made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates all around on the hem of the robe.

Photos by Karen Ruhl