The Time Of My Departure Is At Hand

When the Apostle Paul penned these words, as recorded in 2 Timothy 4:6, his situation was much different than my own. I am less than 12 hours away from embarking on a motorcycle adventure that is all about fun and fellowship with friends. Paul was writing in anticipation of his death… celebrating a life well lived as a sacrifice to the God he served. But I love, love, love the metaphor Paul uses when he speaks of his "departure. I think I can enjoy just a bit of a parallel, not at all in life circumstance, but in the metaphor.

The Greek word for departure is analusis.  Paul used a metaphor for "loosing from moorings as one prepares to set sail" or "loosening the bands that permit the soul to go forth with expanded sails."

I have two thoughts:  Most importantly, we all need assurance that the end of this life simply means we are "setting sail" on an adventure beyond our wildest imagination… an eternity in the presence of Jesus.  Second, we need to admit that life can sometimes take the wind out of our sails.  I'm committed to finding opportunities in this life to "set sail" on adventures that allow me to catch some fresh wind and expand those sails.  That's what these next 20 days or so are about.

Tomorrow, early in the morning, I "set sail" on my iron horse, heading out on another adventure of a lifetime. It's an aggressive plan - because I am all about going big or not going at all. I'm not sure if we can finish the entire course, really. Starting and ending in Florida, the ride totals more than 8,000 miles. Difficult? Yes! Possible? I think so!! Is there a possibility I will have to miss some sights and states as I turn toward home? Another yes!!! But... I would rather try and fail than not try at all.  Rosalynn Carter said, "You must accept that you might fail; then if you do your best and still don't win, at least you can be satisfied that you tried.  If you don't accept failure as a possibility, you don't set high goals, you don't branch out, you don't try - you don't take the risk." So I'm going for it! Here's an overview of the entire crazy adventure:

Pray that God would grant us safety and camaraderie. Agreeable weather would be nice, too - but most of all, safety as we ride.  And if you would like to follow along, we will be using a GPS device called a Spot Gen3 satellite tracker.  You can check our progress at any time by following this link:

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0qkJsBHuPg0jD6se4XqDq6zPQmDdIn1zT

Check back here often for ride updates and pictures.  Let the adventure begin!