My oldest daughter worked in Bristol Bay this summer. She was on the water for a couple months, cooking for the crew of a net barge. The day before she left, she holed herself up in her room to pack and get ready. The following day, she emerged with several papers, various dates scrawled across the front. June 11. June 13. June 16, and on to the end of July. Her explanation? “ I’m going on an adventure, so I wanted you guys to have one too!” She set the papers across the piano, and for the two months she was away, we had fun gathering around to read her instructions:

Plant some flowers today.

Bake some chocolate chip cookies and give them to an elderly couple.

She even left a gift for Ethan to open on Father’s Day, signing the back with “I miss you too, Papa.”

In her last letter, she tucked a $100 bill inside and wrote You have 15 minutes to spend this or return in full. Please spend on snacks and short-lived pleasures like chocolate. The checker looked a bit confused as we breathlessly rushed to load the conveyer belt with so many snacks. Are we up to $100 yet?!?

These little notes helped us while she was away, and gave us a lot to laugh about when she returned. We shared about our mini adventures, and she shared the journal she kept while out on the water.

Moments like these remind me that life is more than work and survival; there is joy in the journey.

I once heard someone say that church sometimes serves as an inoculation to awe. There are so many wild and beautiful stories, but we lose sight of those things because they are familiar to us. When God wanted to get Moses’ attention, he decided to light a bush on fire, but it wasn’t consumed. It was an unexpected turn, and we never see that scene again in Scripture. It shows me that God is humorous and interesting and I love that he chooses to meet us in such improbable ways.

When Scripture gives us injunctions like, Let us do good to everyone, especially to those who are of the household of faith, I think we immediately translate this to I need to give money to the church, or some other vague catalog of ideas. But what if we took the time to be more intentional about the way we live out our faith? Just as Jasmine left a series of notes for us to read and act on, God has given us our own side quests to complete.

Maybe we drop off a basket with soup, vitamins, and flowers for someone who is under the weather. Maybe we text someone when they cross our mind to say, “Hey, I’m thinking about you today. How can I pray for you?“ And maybe we go all out and stage a surprise Celebration of Life! to express appreciation for someone while they’re still around to hear it.

If life is a story we write day by day, perhaps we could add some elements of surprise—you know, spice things up a little? God does it often enough in Scripture, so I’m sure he wouldn’t be offended if we did the same.