Aren’t you scared to travel the world?
…but you won’t be getting paid?
What about your job? Do you not love it?
And when you come back?
These are the range of responses I receive when I share my news of traveling the world for a year in the name of Jesus. There is more support for me than there are these questions, but these are the ones that seem to stick out the most.
So let me share my answers:
Yes, of course I am scared to travel the world; I will live out of a backpack and be using a sleeping bag as a bed for a year. (If you don’t know this already, I am kinda a diva… Um hello, I own a Starbucks gold card). This is not the first thought that crosses my mind when I think comfortable. But that is not how we are called to live. My love for Christ, adventure, traveling, and other cultures surpasseses any fears I may have.
No, I will not in fact be getting a paycheck for an entire year. There’s sacrifice when committing to the Lord’s will, and not only will I leave my friends and family for a year, but I am also choosing to leave my comfortable paying job to love on babies in orphanages, teach children in run down schools, or walk into bars praying for prostitutes. Is it hard leaving the comfortable? Absolutely, who doesn’t like waking up to a Keurig and warm breakfast. In my current state, I know almost exactly what my every day will look like. But for now, I am satisfied with the unknownness that the Race will bring.
Yes, I do in fact love my job and the people I work with. I have been blessed with an amazing first year of teaching and even more blessed by the people that I work with. Making friends outside of college is very difficult but I have come to meet ladies who are quickly becoming friends. My decision isn’t whether I love my job or not, it is a matter of picking up my cross and walking out God’s will for my life.
As for the future beyond the race… I truly have no idea what life will look like when I come home. I can make tentative plans of coming back late July, applying for teaching jobs, and getting the perfect one. But I honestly don’t know if that will happen. I am working on just being present in where the Lord is leading me and the love He is filling me with to spread to all the nations.
“And I could be safe
I could be safe here in Your arms and never leave home
Never let these walls down
But You have called me higher
You have called me deeper
And I’ll go where You will lead me Lord”
