Last month, something happened to me that I didn’t think could happen while being on this amazing thing called The World Race.
I was texting with my Daddy about my current whereabouts when I realized what that “something” was.
I got trapped by Norm.
Our text conversation went like this:
Me: Hey Daddy! Our last day of ministry was yesterday. We’re in the capital city of Cambodia now for three or four days for our Leadership Development Week.
Daddy: Ok. What did you do in Cambodia?
I paused and stared at my phone for a moment. It was like the fog I had unknowingly been in for a whole month, cleared up in an instant.
I couldn’t have possibly let this month go by without letting my parents, family, friends and supporters know the ways in which I was serving, could I?
I could. And I did.
At the start of this Race, I didn’t think it would be possible for me to reach a point where living out of a backpack and traveling to a new country every month could become a normal routine.
But in that moment, I realized that it had.
And that reality stinks.
This time last year, I was drafting my support letter and doing tons of research on this life-changing experience I was getting ready to embark on. Every time I noticed a clock that read 11:11, I felt so much excitement just imagining how wonderful 2014 would be.
Now eight months in, that excitement has been diluted and polluted and by the trap of normalcy.
Cold showers …
Cows chilling on the side of the road …
Seven of us piled into a four-seater Tuk-Tuk …
It’s the norm.
All these things that were once abnormal to me are now a part of my everyday life.
During my first month on the Race, I took 1,526 pictures. 1,526 pictures in 23 days!
Last month, I barely took 500.
For the first five months, I was posting two blogs a week.
We’re now in Malaysia and I still have blogs to post from month seven in Cambodia. (More blogs are coming soon, I promise!)
All of this to say that I’ve been trapped by Norm. As our squad mentor says, “It’s the enemy’s subtle way of keeping you from squeezing every single moment out of the Race.”
I’m convinced though that World Racer’s aren’t the only ones who sometimes fall into Norm’s trap.
“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8
We are all susceptible to getting caught up in the routines of life where we take for granted the people and opportunities God has blessed us with. But God is merciful in that He won’t leave us there.
I am thankful that through a simple text message, God spoke to me causing me to remember the reason for coming on this Race. I am encouraged to press in and finish the last leg of this Race with more passion than when I began.
I pray that you will also press in to your life’s race – the race that God has predestined for you … avoiding Norm’s trap at all costs.
