Anatomy of an Adventure From Wire devotional) . . . unless a grain of wheat falls . . . and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit—John 12:24 When men head off, toward something in the distance, toward something good and worthy—but also into unknown obstacles, detours, deprivations, dangers— those are adventures . We tend to think of them as journeys of ascent, like climbing to a summit. But are they, really? Aren’t adventures actually journeys of descent ? And, actually, doesn’t therein lay their power? Our culture teaches that ascending brings us life : ascending in school; our careers; our social standing; in the sizes of our houses and our bank accounts. Our King, Jesus Christ, teaches the opposite. He teaches that we come alive, instead, by descending. And he teaches that we come alive by listening to God, trusting God, and relying on God. That’s why adventures are so important. On them, we descend voluntarily . We forgo “comfortable” and “secure.” We