When having the opportunity to share with people the experiences I encounterd in Botswana or of the specifics of The World Race; I am often hit with the reply of “It is so wonderful what you are doing, I cannot imagine dropping everything and doing that myself”. I have always been taken back to a degree by these words, and I have not quite known how to respond.
Since I was a little kid I have always had a deep desire to travel and experience new things. Fortunately I was graced in growing up with parents that shared these desires with me. Whether it was making trips through Jamestown exploring the early history of our great country or watching a rodeo in Fort Worth, I ate up every moment of our trips. Throughout high school and early into college I found myself in a stagnant time of my life and knew that something was missing, yet I could never put my finger on it. Last summer while in Botswana God opened my eyes to that exact area that for so long had been missing. Throughout the month of June I found myself well, just finally being myself. It was a time in which I learned to come alive and find my identity in Christ. When I arrived back home I struggled with learning to live with that same intensity and drive. I felt as if something was missing all over again, and like before I couldn’t place my finger on it. I missed the constant fellowship that my team and I lived in, as well as the vulnerability we had with one another. It was through that semester that I had to relearn what living a life that relied solely on Christ meant all over once again (In my personal opinion this is always an ongoing process throughout life that’s never completely mastered).
I knew without a doubt that while I loved my hometown in which I had come to adore, it was time to move on and find that drive that I was so desiring. While I could talk for hours about how my move to Arkansas, and the discovery of a new community of friends has helped me grow and continued to mold me into the man God desires me to be, it has still not filled the vast whole in my heart that was stirred the day I departed Seronga last June.
I have come to realize that my heart longs for the desire of traveling, experiencing new cultures, friends, and living out a life following after Christ, or as Mel Blackkaby states it “Going the Second Mile”. While struggling through these past months that eventually lead to this discovery, I also came to an apparent understanding to the statement previously mentioned in the first paragraph. Chapter 10 of Romans Paul explains to us something that we all so joyously love to hear: “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved”, however, we so often overlook the proceedings of this in the two verses that follow: “But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?” Some of us are called to go while others are called to send. One is no more important than the other just one neither is possible without the other.
While I cannot fully explain to others how to fulfill the calling that God has for them, I can in return help guide them along their path by acknowledging in them their gifts and strengths that I have been privileged to bear witness. What I encourage people to do is to find their niche in which they find their greatest joy and to use that to propel God’s kingdom forward and reflect Christ’s image to those they encounter. This is not limited to only the mission field but instead can be found in business, sports, or any other path. It is through this joy and desire that you will find yourself living a life on the path of the second mile. Not all of us are called to pack our bags and go, however, as Christians we are all called to be living examples of Christ, and to share that with a world that is greatly in need. I encourage you to search your heart for this same joy, and to commit to yourself to prayer with the hopes of discovering the plan that God has set forth for you. Through this we can all join in the adventure that is known as walking with Christ.
“There is no greater blessing in life than to know that we are right in the middle of the trail God has marked for our lives and to know that He is providing the strength and endurance to play our part in His plan for the World” -Steve Saint
