My son-in-law text me from Catalina Island where he’d taken my daughter for her birthday. While looking at renting a golf cart for a leisurely cruise around the island, he told Rachel that she could do whatever she wanted because it was her birthday.
Much to my son-in-law’s chagrin, Rachel told him she wanted to go parasailing — that’s my adventurous 23 year old!
While I’ve been known to have a bit of an adventuresome spirit, with 51 looming on the horizon, it’s not as vibrant of a spirit as it once was . . . and, so no surprise that this quote from Joni Eareckson Tada resonates so much with me:
“Remember life is an adventure to live, no matter what age you are. So go out there and, by the grace of God, try something new!”
Joni’s quote is from a recent blog post about a Joni and Friends Family Retreat:
When you’ve been in a wheelchair as long as I have, every summer that I can get out there and “do stuff” is pretty significant. Even though I’m past 65, I am still trying new things. Like when Ken and I went to our Joni and Friends®‘ Family Retreat in New England. It’s a beautiful camp, and on the edge of the property is a big lake. A couple of young men, who are expert kayakers, have a ministry they call Waypoint Adventure – they provide kayaking experiences to people with disabilities. One of them approached Ken and suggested that I could get into one of the kayaks. “Joni?!”
Joni did indeed go kayaking and shares in her post that it was so quiet and peaceful – an experience she’ll never forget.
Grateful to Joni for the inspiration and reminder that “life is an adventure” and whatever our age, indeed, we should, “try something new!”
Lee Ann Jackson
Ambassador Advertising. We Connect. Ministry and Media.
P.S. If you want some more inspiration, Joni suggests tuning into the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro — this week kayaking is the hot new sport!
