Did you know they’ve put the whole catalog of “The Wonder Years” on Netflix?
“What would you do if I sang out a tune, would you stand up and walk out on me…”
If your upbringing resembled anything like mine you know exactly what I’m talking about. It is essentially a show that raises the nostalgia of a time gone by to a heightened level of respect and near-worship. And as an adolescent, I ate it up.
Kevin Arnold and Winnie Cooper: boy-next-door falls in love with girl-next-door. It’s perfect, right? Most of us, if we’ve grown up in the US, have grown up with the idea that the past is better than anything the present has to offer. We used to have safe schools and neighborhoods, nobody had to worry about the Internet or cyber-bullying, and kids, for the most part, obeyed their parents.
Safety is idolized and the American Dream has run rampant through the fields of our adolescence. We want to grow up and “do better” than our parents, grab the luxury cars and live in places where we don’t have to lock our doors at night.
Sigh.
Is that even real? And more than that, does that kind of thinking go against all that God has for us?
I’m writing on A Deeper Story today about that.
I sat across the table with a friend a few months ago. “I’m beginning to question if the idea of basing my whole life on safety means that I’ve been missing the Grand Adventure and what God has wanted for me all along.”
Seriously it was like I was speaking Russian. She looked back at me with a blank look in her eyes.
And then she began to shake her head. “I have no idea what you mean, Sarah. Safety is GOOD, isn’t it?”
Isn’t it? It is if you believe in the American Dream.
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so jiving with what you’re writing…just read the Faith of Leap by Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch – it challeneged me in such a BIG way to live a life of TRUE faith which includes adventure, risk, adversity and incomprehensible trust and faith in Christ.
As someone who is living the adventure and not the dream, thank you for the reminder that it’s worth it, even when it isn’t safe.
Very timely. My husband and I are considering a move into what is considered a bad part of town. Why? International student ministry near a college campus. We could afford to live somewhere nicer, but really, we don’t need a bigger and nicer house…Some would consider us crazy, but we are praying that God would direct. He is trustworthy.
Ahhh i loved this post Sarah- this is so my heart!!! My husband and I are currently on a God adventure…leaving behind safety and embracing God’s provision!! We are so excited! Thank you for sharing this- stirs my heart and makes me smile this morning!