Tonight, my family and I will be saying goodbye to Vanessa Long, AKA The Best Intern Ever. One of the things that I've always questioned about relationships is if they are worth all of the effort in relation the heartache that they cause. I'm sure all of us have been in relationships and had friendships that inflicted a lot of pain, instead of the expected benefits of a friendship.

I remember one of Vanessa's many life goals being to be Noah's best friend. After just a week as an intern, Vanessa was declared to be Noah's best friend. The two of them spent the summer doing what every BFF duo does, dancing, singing, playing, talking and laughing. It really has been pretty awesome to watch. One afternoon, Vanessa dropped by our house for a moment to say hi and was about to leave when Noah came to me with a sad look on his face. "Daddy, I want Vanessa to stay." Noah and I went out to find Vanessa and he asked her to stay for dinner. After this, Danielle and I have spent the past weeks trying to figure out how to prepare Noah for the inevitable.

This morning, while Noah and I were sitting on the couch together, I told him that today was the last day that he would see Vanessa for a while. Noah just got quiet. His voice had a hint of sadness as he wanted to know more about why his best friend wouldn't be around again for a while. Part of me wondered throughout the day if I should have worked to protect Noah from the inevitable pain. I mean Vanessa was an intern. Intern by nature is a temporary position and therefore a temporary relationship.

We are about to embark into some new territories with one another and God this fall in which you are going to be asked to invest in relationships with other students and adults that will inevitably cause pain. These relationships may be temporary. Vanessa, however, reminded me in many ways that the temporary nature of an internship or a relationship doesn't matter if you choose to fully invest in the relationships. The only relationships that might not be "worth it" are the ones in which we are half-hearted participants. When we choose to invest fully in a relationship regardless of risks, tenure or shortcomings, we choose what I observed from Vanessa and Noah's friendship and the ways that she has cared for so many in The Zone this summer, "ADVENTURE!"

Choose adventure by choosing to engage in new friendships this fall with students and adults as together we move forward as a community.

Q How did Jesus' relationship with his disciples, including Judas exhibit and model for us this spirit of adventure?
Q How does Jesus' statement in John 15:13 embody the spirit of adventure that we are invited to exhibit in our lives?
Q Who or what is the spirit of adventure most concerned about?