When you stand at the top of a high dive, you are faced with two choices: dive in or climb back down the ladder. Either way you're going down -- one way leads to safety and predictability, the other to adventure and excitement.
When we started our dialogue with LCC International University, we began to climb the ladder. Nearly a month ago, we jumped when we said, "Yes, we will serve." Now we find ourselves in freefall -- a time of uncertainty, anticipation, and exciting discomfort.
This is the place where Alisha and I live right now. We find our emotions swinging from excited to anxious to overwhelmed several times a day. As we race toward the water, we know our lives are going to change drastically and the only thing we can do is embrace that idea and enjoy the moment.
In other words, a haphazard liberation.
This last weekend, Alisha and I held our second fund-raiser yard sale and, while the process of sorting through things is quite draining, the sensation of freeing oneself from earthly possessions is liberating. I walk into a room in my house and can think, "In a couple of months, I will be free of these things. I will be free of anything that would prevent me from mobilizing for Worthwhile Adventures. I will be leaving one life behind and entering a whole new chapter in a very drastic, dramatic way."
We are in free-fall and there's no turning back.
But that liberty does not come without sacrifice: we are also taking leave from friends, family, pets, items of sentimental value, our community, predictability, and culture. For Alisha, it means saying goodbye to hard-earned possessions such as her 1950s deluxe KitchenAid mixer and sewing machine. For me, it means stepping away from playing music with those who have become my closest friends.
"Come, follow me."
Those haunting words are what led us to jump in the first place and we are excited to see where they lead us once we hit the water.