Adria Johnson
Adria is currently traveling the world with a ministry called Adventures in Mission whose heartbeat is go where, do what, and love however the Holy Spirit says to. She’s working on her first book which is a memoir reflecting on her journey into freedom and connection. She dreams of catalyzing a redeemed yoga philosophy and practice called Selah which centers on inner healing and soul care.
Where are you currently? Mentally, spiritually, and globally?
As of 45 minutes ago, I’m no longer in Swaziland and now located in South Africa. Heading into my sixth month on the road, I’ve grown familiar with tight border taxis and 18 hour bus rides and an increasingly heavy pack on my back. My mind is everywhere and nowhere at the same time. I’m in a moment of learning how to be loyal to contentment while also wedded to hope. My mind is in a South African border taxi, but it’s also in Los Angeles and it’s in Spain and it’s in Yosemite. I still have 6 months on the road and, though the past 5 have been some of the best of my life, I definitely daydream my return most days, which I find absurd considering that I’m living my dream as we breathe. Yet in the same breath, I’m in love with living everywhere and nowhere at the same time because it gives me unspeakable freedom to dream the most impractical things. I have no rent to pay and no gas to buy and no employer to answer to, meaning none of my mind wanderings revolve around things that I need to pay for, which I presume wouldn’t be the case if I were in the States. God has granted me total liberty to think up crazy things. He let me know that once I had submitted my whole mind to him for Holy Spirit to transform, I actually started to think more like he thinks (Romans 12: 2, 1 Corinthians 2: 16) and that I actually have really good ideas. He said that he’d be more than willing to work all of my ideas into his will (Ephesians 1: 11), and that he’s really stoked to give me my dreams (Psalm 37: 4).
What has been most challenging in the last 5 months abroad?
My understanding of connection has been completely disassembled and reconditioned. I realized that God really wanted to know us, but he was also humble enough to acknowledge that knowing him wasn’t nearly enough. He wanted us to know each other really well too (Genesis 2: 18). Pardon me, because I’m not even the slightest bit a fan of using dictionary definitions to convey points, but to know is to have experience with. My old system of connection was rich in information but poor in experience—I used to put my post-production highlights on display rather than letting people experience processes with me, all in fear of being perceived as weak. It’s been tougher than I’d ever imagine to surrender my safety for the sake of sure connection, but it turned out worth it.
On a more practical level, I camped every day last month. I haven’t had a good cup of coffee in far too long. I own 16 articles of clothing. I’ve been WiFi-less in most living situations (which sounds glamorous to the average millennial who is overwhelmed by commitment and has poor self control, but it’s actually pretty inconvenient and even sad some days). Woe is me.
Do you find routine wherever you are? If so, what does that look like?
While I technically do have routine, I’ve recreated what the discipline means to me, and have titled it rhythm. I’ve found myself pretty enslaved to routine in the past since it tends to set a strict precedent for what’s supposed to happen. Rhythm provides more fluidity and has potential to produce a new symphony every day. I like to read the Bible, but that’s only because I want to know God better. America has declared over Christian culture that we must read the Bible in the morning with a cup of coffee and some introspective music. But rhythm gives me freedom to take other opportunities to achieve the same purpose without a coffee or even a Bible. My rhythm is stupidly simple right now since, as I said, I don’t have a rent to pay or even a job to pay for the rent that I don’t have. I usually watch the sunrise, and I pretty much always read my Bible. I tell some people about God or ask God to heal them, or something like that. Then I usually watch the sunset and eat a lot of carbs amid it all since I’m on mega budget.
Why read the bible?
I read the Bible because I’m really desperate to know God and to know what he thinks about me. I’ve learned that the Liar tells lies, and if I’m not reading the Truth, I don’t even know what the lies sound like and end up believing they’re true. I have to be in the Truth so that I know what the Truth does and doesn’t sound like. Also I like to know what God is like. And I like to pray scripture because a lot of times, I don’t know what to pray.
Anyone who knows you, knows that you exude joy. Can you share a little bit about the journey to joy?
You’re so right so call it a journey. I spent the better part of my life bummed out about a variety of things that were all wrapped in fear. I had a lot of thoughts about myself that, looking back, were really ignorant once I now put them in the context of the cross, but I tackled them with a relentless happiness. I could bet plenty of my fellow extroverts can relate to my experience of being entrenched in depression yet having no earthly idea how to not be okay. I was that lively and kind depressed person who didn’t know how to address emotion aside from screaming EVERYTHING IS SO GOOD with a fat smile and no intention of letting anyone know I was actually doing horribly, which resulted in an overwhelming loneliness. I coped by hopping on the stage of life and making people laugh, which ended up being remarkably unsustainable considering my joy was contingent upon applause. I was an actress putting on a show before an audience. Years later, I had an encounter with Jesus which woke me up to my value, but I’d have yet to come to the realization that I operated for value rather than from it. Instead of making people laugh, redeemed Adria served people. It wasn’t until recently that I came to realize that both humoring people and serving people were an overflow from a heart of wanting approval. The story as to how I got completely free from the enslavement of approval is a long one, but it was brought to completion in 2017 when the Lord spoke to me through a stranger, telling me details about my upbringing and ultimately declaring my freedom. My joy is an overflow of being approved by God, not by man. I’m working on my first book which expounds a bit on a lot of this process for me!
Is there someone that comes to mind when you hear the word mentor?
I’ve been mentorless pretty much my whole life. I look up to a lot of people, like my big brothers and my best friend, Heidi, and Bob Goff and Donald Miller and Melissa Helser who are all authors whom I’ve never met. I’d like to be mentored one day. I’m not sure how to even get one of those though.
What would you tell your 20-year-old self? 40-year-old self?
20-year-old self:
Say hi to most people. The far-too-regular 5 seconds of awkward rejection is worth the plenty of times you’ll meet really good people.
40-year-old self:
Risking financial security is worth living the life you dreamt about when you were 22.
Which questions make you anxious? (that others ask or you ask yourself)
How tall are you?
Are you gonna eat that?
When middle aged African men ask me about Trump
Why are you single? (Screw me if I know!)
A song that currently sparks joy?
Thanks Adria!
