“What have I gotten myself into??”
That’s the text I sent my friend, Charlotte, on the first day of training camp (It is a question I have asked myself over and over since I was accepted to the race, and a question I’ll probably still be asking long after my return next year).
I had just met an overwhelming amount of my squad at a McDonald’s near Toccoa Falls College, where training camp was being held.
I was one of the first people to arrive, and then a floodgate opened as a sea of red began to form in this small-town fast food restaurant.
photo credit: Leanne LeBlanc
A blur of faces passed by me as I hugged 40 strangers that I thought I knew.
You see, I’m always over prepared (can’t imagine where I got that from, Dad). I always leave 20 minutes before I need to in order to make sure I get somewhere on time. I always do my research to make sure I am fully informed, and K squad was no exception. I did my Facebook stalking, and I thought I knew everyone’s name, face, a random fact, and whether or not I would like them.
But as I began to meet all the faces I had studied, I couldn’t remember a single name, a single fact, and I started to wonder if I was even on the same squad as these people.
Quickly, all that preparation I had done became obsolete. This would prove true for all of training camp.
I had searched all over The World Race website for blogs that would give me the slightest information on what I had to look forward to at training camp. While I had a pretty good grasp on what to expect physically, nothing could have prepared me for the spiritual and emotional challenges I faced.
Training camp forced me out of my comfort zone, broke down walls that I didn't even know existed, and taught me some life changing lessons.
~~~
Out of respect for all future World Racers, I won’t go into details about my week in Toccoa Falls, GA. It’s not that what happens at camp is some top-secret initiation, it’s just better to go in with as few expectations as possible. Every training camp is different, and I want any future World Racer to experience their week without comparing it to my experience.
~~~
Comparing.
That’s one theme that seemed to reoccur during camp.
Everyone does it; it’s in our nature. But we need to stop. It prevents us from appreciating where we are at and who we are.
It’s easy to compare…
…As your standing in an auditorium worshiping. It’s easy to look around at your fellow squad mates who are dancing around, arms lifted high, while you just stand still and close your eyes.
photo credit http://updates.theworldrace.org/?filename=training-camp-highlights-september-2012-squads
…As you observe the spiritual gifts your fellow squad mates have been given. Some have been gifted with leadership, others with the ability to speak truth over people. All the while you just stand around confused as to what your own gift is.
…As you witness the diversity of personalities surrounding you. Some people are blessed with intense dance moves, some with hilariously outgoing personalities. And you just stand quietly on the sidelines soaking it all in, your whole life being labeled the “quiet one”.
But there is no need to compare. God made you beautifully, with purpose. While you may not know it now, there is a skill you possess that no one else does. You are a missing piece to a puzzle. Those skills or traits that you have that you compare to everyone else’s, they may be the very reason that you can reach the one person that no one else could.
So don’t compare yourself to others. Don’t envy the way other people are. Be confident in the person God has created you to be.
That is what I have to remind myself of daily.
~~~
That is just one of the many things I learned during my week at training camp. The week where it was only day 2 but I felt like I had been there forever, and known my squad mates my whole life. The week that seemed like it was never going to end, but ended way too fast. The week that was 2 weeks ago but seems like it happened a lifetime ago.
It has taken me time to process that week. It has taken time to figure out how to blog about it, I’m not even sure this blog really has a proper beginning, middle, or end… it is more of a stream of consciousness. But this blog has helped me process that week better than anything else, being forced to put all of these thoughts on paper. Perhaps I’ll write more about that week, I really did learn so much.
The most important thing I learned, though, is that this next year is going to absolutely rock my world in ways I cannot imagine! My life is going to change in all the ways that I’ve been praying it would!
I cannot wait to go on this journey and take all of you along for the ride!
