Ordinary Epic

"Certainty of death. Small chance of success. What are we waiting for!"-- Gimli, Lord of the Rings

Go, go, go!!! You've got this! {That's me, yelling wildly from the stands, cheering you on to the finish line, the end zone, the goal... your dreams.}

There's this everyday ordinary. The ordinary opportunity to choose.

Heh. I remember that moment of regret when I spoke foolhardy. Clumsy passion fueling my questions. It was hot. Really hot. And we stood crammed into a tiny ramshackle building they called the office. Four teachers wearing dirty, torn suit coats with mismatched trousers. I asked if they were living the life they dreamed and they smiled meek as they wiped beads of sweat with filthy handkerchiefs. The room amplified a long pause while about 200 children, a chorus of yells and laughter, pushed and shoved to get closer to the door. After all, Azungus -- the white foreigners, are pretty popular out in the African Bush.

One of the teachers looked long at the floor before he turned his humble expression toward me. His voice almost a whisper, "In our country we go to school and then take a test. If we score well on the test, we can be teachers. It is one of the best jobs we can get."

And that room in the stifling heat. The fumbling faux pas and the rhythmic voices outside. Everything slowed just then. I tried to process the stark possibility that the "American Dream" ...well, I stood there naive and... stupid. And ethnocentric.

Life is full of those freeze frame moments. I walked away convicted.

Grappling with this belief that I've grappled with since as far back as I can remember. That we live a certain life because we're meant to live beyond ourselves. That we live in abundance for the sake of loving those around us. It's the mantra my children have grown up with: Live beyond you.

This ordinary day, ordinary moment... choose to see it, live it, epic. Because all around you are people who are simply doing the best they can today, with the best they've been given. If you're blessed with the extraordinary gift to choose risk, by all means, don't pass it up! Don't take ordinary for granted.

We don't have it mastered. We're in the trenches. And it's muddy and messy and dangerous here. But we believe it's worth it -- and we're inviting community to join us.

Your life has purpose. It's something bigger than what you can accomplish on your own. (Our Father God does that on purpose -- He wants us to adventure with Him. And we're more likely to want to journey with Him when the invitation looks impossible on our own.)

So, go! I'm cheering you on. My children are cheering you on! Live beyond you.