Brave Stories

Here is a list of stories and individuals we often admire because they chose to take risks instead of stay safe:

St. George
Bilbo Baggins
Frodo Baggins
Amelia Earhart
Albert Einstein
Abraham Lincoln
Michael Jordan
The Beatles
Harry Potter
Jesus Christ

This is an incredibly short list of people and stories we love to talk about. We read these stories to our children and talk to them about adventure and risk. We praise these characters for pressing forward in the face of adversity. These characters do not throw caution to the wind, but they press into the wind of challenge. They move forward and advance against the enemy bravely.

Our society loves to tell children to “go, have adventures.” In fact, we say that to adults, too. “You’re never too old! Go, try something new! Have an adventure and tell us about it.” At the same time, we are constantly being reminded to “stay safe” and “take care.”

The thing about adventure, though, is that it is by nature full of challenge, risk, danger, and often suffering. A true adventure is difficult and dangerous. It’s a tough and risky business. And it’s worth it.

When I was getting married several years ago, my friends kept telling me, “Congrats on your new adventure!” I was excited and thrilled to be starting this adventure with my husband. I imagined our adventure including things like canyoning and volcano sighting. Fun, big laughs, great photos. I imagined us laughing and holding each other tightly as we tried new and exciting things every weekend.

This did not happen after our literal honeymoon in Costa Rica. We did rappel down waterfalls, but only once! Soon we ran into the troubles of life: the exhaustion of pregnancies, the uncertainties of work, and more. In the hard times, I kept asking myself, “Why am I not having an adventure? Where is the adventure everyone kept promising me?!”

Then several years into our marriage, my husband was reading “The Hobbit” to our eldest child. Tolkien kept mentioning the “adventure” that Bilbo was setting out on. Adventure, adventure, adventure. I grabbed our copy of “The Lord of the Rings.” Tolkien uses the same term. But everything Bilbo and Frodo encounter is difficult, terrible, and life threatening. This is adventure, folks!

An adventure is climbing and scraping your way up a terrifying mountain to do something incredibly important. There are obstacles and enemies on these epic adventures. They are not glossy or safe and they do not end with a glass of wine and a photo shoot. But truly, in the end, these adventures accomplish incomparable good.

I am not climbing the mountain of Mordor to destroy an evil ring, but I am climbing some scary mountains. Mountains called Marriage, Parenting, and Off-script Life Choices: moving my large family to a busy city for my husband to start a PhD program at the age of 36. This is our adventure and through all the difficulties it is worth it for the good it brings to the world, both now and eternally.

So if you, like me, have come to value adventures for what they are, fear and all, consider now what staying safe and taking risks means to you. What do you really value? What do you want to teach your children? Are you willing to teach adventure lifestyle by example or do you wish to relegate risk to a bedtime story?

Aside (In case this post naturally causes you to consider current events):

This is a challenging question in our current health climate when we are constantly being told to “stay safe.” My post today is not to get into the weeds of lockdown verses opening up the US economy. There are innumerable factors to consider in that debate. Instead, what I am hoping to spark in you today, is that knowledge deep inside that sometimes we have to set out on long, arduous journeys that are not perfectly safe and that’s okay–in fact, it is necessary.

What will your brave story be?