Tomorrow I board a plane to Thailand to begin my World Race. This trip will be filled with new people, experiencing God in new ways and a whole new level of 24/7 community.
Community is not something that comes easily to me. I love my alone time. I am rarely saddened by a weekend spent at home. I enjoy being alone with my thoughts. But these same things that bring me peace and rest can also be my downfall.
Too much alone time is not good nor is it how I was designed to operate. I (just like you) was created to be in community with other people. This truth me hit me like a brick when I was 20 years old. I was asserting my independence in stupid and unhealthy ways because I was determined to do life with just God and me. But then a couple of friends loved me enough to step into the space I had created just for myself and call out (loudly and repeatedly) the need for others in my life.
This is community.
It was hard and for a while I fought it, but ultimately I am so much better because those friends loved me enough to call me on this sin in my life.
This is just one example of the ways in which community has impacted my life. Whether it is walking through a parent’s cancer with a friend, or rejoicing about new babies or new jobs, as I opened myself up to community my life has grown richer and richer. It is through community that I am challenged to be more like Jesus and encouraged to be just who God created me to be.
As much as I still enjoy and take time to myself to think, decompress, and rest, community is what has brought me to this point in my life. The point where I am confident enough to follow the Lord into the unknown, and often times forgotten corners of the world to share His great love. Without each person who has been a part of my community, even if just for a brief time, this would not be possible.
God has been shaping the World Race into my story in small ways for a long time but I would not have made it to Launch without the work He is also doing in lives of the people who make up my community.
As I get ready to embark on this great adventure tomorrow with a whole new community, people the Lord is already embedding deep in my heart, I just want to say Thank You. Thank you to my friends, family, disciplers, and mentors who have loved me, challenged me, and called out greatness in my life.
It is because of you that I am preparing to start a whole new chapter of my life filled with so many unknowns but that is covered in the presence of the Lord.
Thank You
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