One week.
Who knew my life would change abruptly in the matter of a WEEK?!
Not me. I had no idea. Well, maybe had an idea but I’ll get to that.
Last week I attended Project Search Light (PSL), my last official act as a World Racer. PSL is a re-entry back to America retreat/conference thingy that is offered by Adventures that is completely optional. For me it was never an option. I knew that it was time that I couldn’t miss out on. It meant that I would get to see some of my squad family, experience awesome times of worship and get the chance to glean as much knowledge from a great list of speakers. I knew it would be the end cap that I needed to close out my season on the World Race.
And it was definitely all of those things. And more.
As my time on the World Race came to an end, I knew that the Lord was asking me to wait, to be patient and to trust him about my next steps after the Race. So I sat in the silence about my next steps for weeks. And believe it or not – I had peace. Sweet sweet peace about not knowing what I was going to do next. Gosh, God is so good.
But there was one more thing that the Lord told me… PSL is where I would figure out what’s happening next and that I wasn’t supposed to make plans for the weeks after. The weeks leading up to PSL were fair game to do all the things but after were off limits.
So what did I do? I made plans and commitments for the day after I got home. Yup. And for the following weekend. And the weekend after that. I mean, why wouldn’t I be able to pick up friends from the airport or go to a friend’s birthday weekend??
Ok, back to PSL. I arrived on Monday to the open arms of my people and boy did it feel so good. A group of us were chatting with out logistics coordinator and he was telling us about the Passport trip he’s leading and how awesome it’s going to be and that it leaves in two weeks. And then he said this: “we still need leaders for a few of the other Passport trips, Allison.” Ummmm, excuse me? We all laughed and I brushed it off.
Wednesday rolls around and we were hanging out at one of my teammates home and talking about what some of us are possibly doing with our lives over the next couple of months and those Passport trips (that are now leaving in a week and a half) came up again. And then out of my mouth came the words that went something like this: “I don’t really have anything that would prevent me from leading one of those trips.” Ummmm, excuse me? Where did that come from. Those in the room responded with a resounding YES in which I responded with a resounding WHOA. I needed to pray.
So I prayed. A lot. And I asked the Lord questions and I asked myself questions. Why did I say that in that moment? Was I seeking validation? Is that what’s truly on my heart? Could I really be called to lead a trip that’s leaving in just a few days? What am I going to be missing over the next three months and can I be ok with missing them? What does it look like for me to step into a role of discipling? Is this the next step the Lord is calling me into?
After more prayer, advise from wise friends and confirmation from the Lord I sent an email on Thursday that lead to a meeting on Friday that lead to a phone call that afternoon that lead to me saying yes to co-leading a group of sixteen college-aged women to Nicaragua for three months.
Yeah. That happened. You may be wondering why would I would I want to commit to leading a trip that was leaving in like a week? I can tell you why. While on the Race, I embraced continually surrendering everything. I told the Lord that I was ready to walk into whatever he was going to call me into next. I would have never imagined that the response and action required would be so immediate. I thought I would have time to get my life together before I would proceed into the next season but when Jesus called his disciples to follow him, it required an immediate action and response. So I said yes.
It is a bit of a bummer to be missing out on the some of the things that I thought I was going to get to experience in the next three months but you know what, it’s going to be ok. When God calls you, the only real option is to be obedient – even when it’s not necessarily convenient.
So, one week has passed since saying yes. I’ve flown home to California from Georgia and then back again to Georgia. Our participants have arrived and we’ve just had our first full day of training camp and they are some wonderful ladies. As I lay here and reflect on the day, I have no doubt in my mind that this is exactly where I’m supposed to be. I’m so excited to love these women and to see them grow deeper in their love for the Lord. I know that Lord is going to continue to refine me and draw me even closer to him.
Gosh, it’s been a good week.
These are my girls! …minus Jessica… Sorry!!
