God is so funny sometimes…funny how He teaches us things we didn't think we needed to know.
As I reflect on the MANY things this trip has taught me thus far, I'm laughing to myself as I write this…and laughing even moreso that of all the things I could share with you– THIS is what the Lord is telling me to share….
it's funny what this trip is showing me this far…showing me about myself. I've always thought of myself as a traveler, a vagabond at heart. When picturing my life years down the road I always saw myself as never being in the same place for long, traveling the world doing missions. And if I was settled somewhere it would be overseas for sure. I thought coming on this trip would ignite a fire in me even moreso for things abroad. Yes, I love to travel, yes I still LOVE doing missions work and being amongst different cultures. But interestingly enough, and much to my surprise, what has been ignited in my heart is a love not only for things abroad… but also for things back home.
This trip has awakened such a deep appreciation within me for family. For my family, and also for simply the concept of family… the beauty of putting roots into the ground and doing life day to day with the people you love. I have such a deep desire growing within me to be with the people I love the most. I'm seeing that so many people around the world have never been able to experience the beauty and blessing of a true FAMILY.
I want my life to be spent loving my family, and someday building a family of my own. (Ha, I'm sure some jaws just hit the table after reading that sentence…). One of the things that excites me most about being home after The Race is simply being able to truly love my family in a new way…truly love them selflessly and more like Christ does. I wana take in every little moment and savor and enjoy it.
It's so funny that I'm saying these things because pre-world race I was so fed up with everything American…everything small town life…. everything typical. But the longer I'm on this trip, the more I realize that the way I've been blessed and the love I have from my family is anything but typical. It is special and unique and something to be cherished and desired.
God wants to bless me with amazing amounts of love. And I think a big way He intends for us to experience His love is through the people He places in our lives…like our families. And yet I've spent a lot of time– especially in my teenage and college years– running away from the love of my family and putting up walls. What was I thinking??
Yes, God wants me to serve those who don't know Him, and for me to serve "the least of these."
However, I'm realizing that first and foremost, God's agenda is always HIS LOVE FOR ME.
He cares about my heart and how loved I feel.
What good is my service if I go through my whole life never fully accepting His love?
I feel like the verse that says He came to give life and life more abundantly could be better understood by saying, "He came to give us LOVE and LOVE MORE ABUNDANTLY."
Because what is an abundant life without abundant love?? It's pointless, that's what. Therefore, I want my life to be a pursuit of ABUNDANT love…and in return an outpour of love as well.
So moral of the story is this…appreciate your families. Appreciate small-town life. Appreciate the things that seem mundane. See God's love for you within the people He has placed in your life.
I set out on this journey to experience God's love in a way I never have before. Little did I know that one of His greatest blessings of love to me is waiting for me back at home!
