Life is usually lived in transition moments, in between the "big things." When I graduated college, my wife Karen and I got married and moved to Indonesia for a year with all of our stuff in a trunk and a few suitcases. It was an in-between time - after school but before we started raising kids.  We grew a lot.

Have you ever noticed that's when you grow the most - during those transition moments? When you meet the most interesting people? When you're challenged the most?

A long delay in an airport. The last summer with your friends before college. That semester of backpacking through
Europe.

At some point in your life, you've probably experienced the tension of
being some place uncomfortable and unfamiliar and had to rely on
something more than just common sense. It seems that God enjoys working when we think we're just waiting around. I think how much we grow in him directly relates to how willing we are to put ourselves in those situations.

Undoubtedly, you've got
all kinds of plans for your life. And if you're like most of us, you
aren't the only one making the plans. There are parents, friends,
teachers, mentors, pastors, counselors, and others, all with good intentions for your life.

And that's not bad - everyone needs direction. But sometimes,
you can lose your identity in all those expectations. If everyone is telling you what you should do and no one is challenging you to define who you are, then something is wrong.

To help this issue with young people's search for identity, I've been prescribing a pilgrimage for awhile now - take a year to find out who you really are, who
God really is, and what this thing called life is really supposed to be
about.*

*Called The World Race it's an initiation experience that takes you to 11 countries in 11 months. We're praying through the possibility of doing one of these races just for baby boomers.