Whether we experience them in our own backyard or across the planet, adventures always take us somewhere new. The excitement, the wonder, the fear, the difficulties-they all shape our experience. I am confident that there is no bad adventure, just some that teach you more than others.
If you could go on a great adventure with anyone, who would you go with? Your best friend? Your siblings? A celebrity, perhaps? I think the one who you choose to accompany you can make or break the adventure, so I chose the best partner that I could. I decided to let the Creator of the Universe, the only all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-encompassing being to ever exist, the lover of my soul, take me on an adventure this past year. Even though that season has passed and a new adventure lies ahead, I don’t plan on switching out travel buddies any time soon.
Eleven months ago, my Creator and Savior graciously reached out His hand to me and said, “Come with me, my daughter. I have something I want you to see.”
Let me just pause for a moment to emphasize something.
Every moment of every day, the Author and Perfecter of all things is reaching out His hand to us, beckoning us to join Him. Us. He wants us. Imperfect, messy, irreverent, despicable in comparison to anything good, much less our Holy God. But He doesn’t care how deep of a pit we are in. He invites us to clumsily stagger out of the darkness, take hold of His hand, and step into His marvelous light. Above all else, I urge you to choose to take His hand and bask in His light every day.
When you stumble out of darkness and step into light, it is only natural to fall on your knees in adoration for the One who led you out. That adoration causes us to transfix our eyes on Him and see what He wants us to see. This was what the World Race was for me-looking to my King and to what He wanted to show me. He showed me how He loves, how He shows grace and mercy, and how He brings joy and freedom. He showed me how He defines worth, ministry, and our callings. He showed me hurt, suffering, poverty, injustice, brokenness, darkness, and mankind’s desperate need for an all-sufficient Savior. In the same breath, He also showed me victory, broken strongholds, beauty, healing, justice, breakthrough, community, and wonders I couldn’t fathom.
My Jesus let me see. He has let me see the passions ignited in me for the local church, my generation, revival in western Christianity, women, and discipleship. God has been changing my heart, mind, and eyes to be more aligned with His: that my heart might break for what breaks His, my mind might be set on Heavenly things, and my eyes might see His people in the way that He does.
I would have to write books (and I might) to adequately express what the Lord has taught me and the work He has done in me this past year. But you are here to read a blog, not a novel, so just trust me when I say, with a thankful heart, that I am not the same person who left the country 11 months ago.
If you’d like to hear about my experience on the World Race in more depth, I have just the link for you!! I got the wonderful opportunity to speak about my experiences at my home church, Cavanaugh, just a few weeks after I got home. I pray that as you listen, the Holy Spirit would speak to your heart-that you might be changed by the testimony that the Lord has so graciously given me. Here’s the link: http://cavanaughchurch.com/world-race-recap
So, what’s next?
My future plans can be summed up as a statement followed by a question mark. If I have learned anything over the years, it is that He is a much better author than I am, so let’s just say I have tentative plans. They are as follows: This fall I will be returning to Baylor University as a sophomore religion major (Yes, I am dropping pre-med. While medical missions are incredible and so so needed, the Lord made it very clear that for me, it was a selfish desire and He had different, unfathomably better plans than my own). I am toying with the idea of adding a minor in creative writing, as I have a passion for the written word, but we’ll see. I am genuinely so excited to return to Baylor, for it is the place that my heart calls home. I am eager to dive into community, discipleship, ministry opportunities and, most importantly, loving people extravagantly when I get back in sweet Waco town. Upon my graduation in the spring of 2020, I will matriculate to seminary, where I will become better equipped for a life of full-time vocational ministry here in the good ole USA. The Lord has placed in me fiery passions for both women and young people, so I feel confident that the work He has set out for me will include both of these groups. Again, these plans are super-extra-ultra tentative.
The biggest, and only certain, plan I have is this: to pursue my Savior and His people with everything in me. I firmly believe that, so long as I concern myself with the depth of my ministry, He will be faithful to take care of the breadth, leading me to places I could not even begin to imagine.
In the meantime, I am starting a new blog!!!!! (new season, new URL! whoop whoop!)
In my experience, we can live bad stories, ok stories, and sometimes, even good stories. But with God, we start to live a better story. This blog is about the better story that the Author has introduced me into. It is the plot. It is the conflict. It is my evolution as a character in the story that He is writing me into. I pray that you join me in living a better story! You can subscribe, or just check it out, at www.callieharmon.org! I will be posting to it soon!
With love,
thank you and goodbye,
Cal
