I faced fear square in the eye balls and actually had an adventure!

So this week was quite a challenge for me. On Monday my gorgeousness hit me with the news that for our business year end function he was taking all of his staff on an outdoor adventure trail for two hours into the mountains. Sound exciting? Yes! But then he told me that we would each have to ride quad bikes up and down those rough mountain trails. For this city girl ... ummm ... I wasn't so excited any more. All these crazy fears started welling up in my mind. (That's the thing with fear. It's always irrational. Never based on truth. But it FEELS SO REAL!!!!!).  Not once did he give me the option of not going. He kept encouraging me that he knew that I could do this and that it would be an amazing adventure to share together. The more he encouraged me, the more sore my stomach got! I realized that I would have to look fear straight in the eye balls and choose to overcome. So yesterday I faced the machine ...

Now I know it doesn't "look" that scary ... but it was the fear of the unknown to me. Would I be able to control it? Was I going to get flipped or rolled off it? How rough would the rough trail actually be? So ... I sat on it. (hee hee =) That sounds so funny ... like I sat on fear! Yip ... I realized that it was a crazy fear that needed to be squashed!). 

I have to admit when this pic was taken my heart was beating so fast! I could hardly breathe. My instructor told me what to push to make it go and where to pull to make it stop. I gave it a go and realized that "I can do this". It felt completely unfamiliar though. The sensation of riding on such uneven surfaces makes you feel like you are going to topple over. The instructor took one look in my eyes and recognized how I was feeling. He told me that though my brain was telling me that I was going to fall off, this bike was made to handle the crazy surfaces we were about to tackle. In that moment peace started to come. Isn't that just like truth! When we allow truth to over ride our feelings the adventure begins!!! We did a quick loop to get the feel of the bikes and then headed out. Take a look at what greeted us when we went through the first gates into the bush.

We rode past graceful buck ... cows ...monkeys and even a very poisonous cobra which raised itself full height to "greet" us as we rode by!!! Talk about this city girl embracing the bush full on hey!!! There were some unbelievable moments on that ride. I have never seen more beautiful views as we climbed the mountain trails (and clung onto that bike for all I was worth). 

The climbs were super steep and bumpy, but the descents were the scariest of all. At one point I had to negotiate a huge "donga" ... South African for massive crevice in the middle of the path. The bike sloped so hectically into a steep slope and I felt myself sliding. I could see the instructor looking very nervous (not encouraging I tell you!!!). Here's where I thought my fear would kick in ... but graciously God gave me the instincts to negotiate my way out of rolling the bike. Fear was finally overcome when I realized that I had faced my worst fear of falling off and actually come through with nothing more than a very alive and fat beating heart =) The instructor told me that he was absolutely amazed that I never rolled the bike. And so with that little "adventure" tucked under my belt of survival tactics we stopped to rest and have a little snack. 

How beautiful is that river!  Below is picture of one of the mountains we road through to get to this quiet little spot. 

After a good laugh and rest we were off again. All of us a lot more confident for the last leg of the trail. 

The last stretch was the best for me. Because I left my fears in the "donga" I overcame, I was able to "put foot" and enjoy the rest of the ride. These last few pics of us being back at base camp looking out to the mountains we had ridden through. 

 

Dirt covered, stiff muscles and a heart that got a real good workout, I am pleased to say that through it all I never broke a nail (hee hee) .... and I had an amazing adventure! Thank you to my sweet man for pushing , I mean encouraging me to overcome fear and enjoy an adventure of a lifetime!

Next time you have a fear to face, remember that God's perfect love is with you to negotiate every rough, steep or bumpy "trail" with you and that as His scriptures promise, "His perfect love casts out all fear"!

All my love,

Janine