I am not the perfect squad leader.
And I don’t have the perfect squad full of perfect World Racers.
I am learning to walk away from perfect. Perfect is an impossible reality asking for too much without offering a clear explanation of what “perfect” is. Perfectionism holds you hostage to thoughts reeling in your mind of what you could have done better. It beckons you to give up when things are not just as you think they should be. Perfectionism leaves no room for grace, patience, or perseverance.
The Lord does not expect me to be perfect. He has asked me to learn and grow in what it means to walk with him in this messy process called life. He does not hold me to a standard of perfect but has told me what is good. To act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with Him. (Micah 6:8). He did not ask me to lead the perfect squad, he asked me to point them back to him at every turn.
I have been squad leading for 6 months and I can hardly begin to tell people what I have learned and how it has changed me. I have learned so much. So many of those lessons have come through mistakes and failures.My squad mentor, Hope, keeps saying it is good to fail, that you find out the world keeps spinning, things keep going, even if I fail. It is through failure that you find grace, forgiveness, and redemption. It’s when you have to look back with regret that you decide how to move forward.
Halfway through I know I am not the perfect squad leader, but I am just me, Anika. A person on a journey in pursuit of a life that brings glory to the Heavenly Father. I have done some things right and I have done some things wrong, but I am so grateful for the things I have learned along the way.
Gap C Squad is not the perfect squad.
They have done some things right and they have done some things wrong.But here they are all growing closer to Jesus and learning a lot about themselves in the process. That’s all I could ask for.They are not the perfect World Race squad. Rather, they are 46 people each with their own stories and personalities, each with their own hurts and triumphs.
Mix us all together and you have something both beautiful and messy.
It’s hard to know what the perfect squad or perfect Racer would be. And perfect is not what I want.I want people who are becoming. People who have decided they want to see what Jesus has for them in this life and are taking steps to move toward that. I want this squad with these people. I want both the beautiful and the messy because that means we are real.
I love what the last six months of my life has brought me. More lessons, tears, humbling moments, failure, and feeling weak then ever before. It has taught me to love more than ever before, to pray like I never have, and has brought me to a more clear understanding of the Lord’s heart and how much he loves us.
I am so excited to see what the Lord is going to do in our squad and for each individual person these last 3 months.
I believe in each and every one of them. They have greatness inside them. They have the power to walk in freedom and bring other people to freedom in Christ. They serve well, they lead well, they forgive well, love well and they are learning so much.
I am learning so much.
God bless you Gap C.
God bless the wild ones.
Love your squad leader,
Nika
I am still in need of $800 to be fully supported. Please consider supporting me as my squad and I are headed into our final stretch.
