The other day as I walked to ministry, it hit me for the first time: this is my life; I am doing The World Race. It took almost four months for that reality to sink in.
Before the trip even begins it’s so easy to get caught up in racer mode. We do our best to prepare ourselves. We buy the gear, stock up on medicine, receive vaccinations and read so many blogs. It didn’t take long for me to picture my life on the Race. I could feel the adventure and I anticipated radical existence.
I expected the Race to be life changing. I imagined new set of challenges that would come from extreme living conditions. I imagined my heart breaking for the lost and hurt people in the world, and I Imagined the Lord building me back up. I imagined growing into a strong woman of God who would be unshakable. I imagined myself becoming a radical Christian.
Here I am, half-way done with the race and I can tell you that I had an inaccurate perception of what the Race would be like. The World Race doesn’t magically make you a new person when you land in the first country. You carry a lot of your challenges with you. Some of your struggles will be the same, and some of your temptations will be the same. When I left I thought I would finally feel fulfilled. I thought that all my problems would disappear from back home and I would finally be able to experience God in ways that satisfied my longing for Him. But God continues to place desires on our hearts and we will never be satisfied with our longing for Him until we get to heaven.
I was using the Race to escape real life, but the Race is not a fantasy, it’s so much better. I am learning who I am, who God is, and what I believe. I do trust that I am becoming a stronger woman of God. I have experienced a new set of challenges. My heart does break and God is slowly putting me back together. I also believe the Race teaches you how to live radically. Not by our standards or the way books describe it. We become radical Christians because we make the radical decision to deny ourselves every day and follow the Lord simply because He is good and asks us to.
