Its been nearly a month since returning to Anacortes, and nearly two since getting my passport checked by those lovely border control agents at LAX. In some ways, this adjustment process has been easy. Other parts of it, I haven’t even let hit me.
I was driving home from the grocery store yesterday, and as I pulled into my neighborhood, I was struck by how normal this life had once again become. It didn’t feel unusual to be back on Fidalgo Island, even after a solid year of seeing all corners of the world. This small town life has, once again, become the norm. And I kind of hate it.
I miss the vagabond life. This is the first time in over a year that I have reached the end of a month and will not be moving on to a new place. I have been back at work for over three weeks now, and already have become used to everything. I’m on a routine. When did I become a ‘routine’ girl again? I loved living the crazy, unpredictable life!
This afternoon, I followed up church with some loud worship time in my house. I was all by myself, so I was able to be as loud as I wanted for as long as I wanted. It felt good to be worshipping freely like that again. Following my worship time, I began reading through my old blogs, starting with training camp. So far, I’ve made it all the way through India.
Each blog transports me back to the exact place I was when I was writing it. I remember every coffee shop, every street corner, every bench, every campsite. I remember my concerns before posting it. I remember my fears about whether it was ‘spiritual’ enough or whether anyone would even care to read it.
Now, I read them with different eyes than when I first wrote them. I am a different person, different than I was a year ago in Ireland, and different than I was even two months ago in Cambodia. The things I was struggling to grasp a year ago now are steady beliefs, settled deep in my heart. I see every revelation I had at the time, and realize how profound they are, at least to me. They have all shaped the woman I am today, and its amazing to be able to get reminders of those things now.
So today, I am here to share more. I struggle to realize that, while I am not traveling the world, doing ministry daily, God is still teaching me great things. Jeremiah 33:3 says, “'Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.'” There is no fine print saying that you must be in a certain place or profession for God to tell you things. In this season of anticipation and preparation, God is still revealing things to me. So, here is what He’s been teaching me, reveal to me, challenging me with, etc.
- Serventhood. On the World Race, my daily task was to serve. Whether in serving my contacts, teammates, local community, etc, I was daily in a position to serve. At home, thats not necessarily the case. Serving isn’t natural in the American culture. About a week ago, I began to pray every day on my way to work that I could be a servant. I’m really still learning what it looks like, especially in the work setting, but I do know that serving is directly connected to loving, so I’m also trying to heap some heavy doses of love on those around me.
- Humility. I often find myself under the belief that I know best. Most of the time, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Yes, I have experienced a lot in my short 22 years, much more than many people my age. Yes, God has taught me much more than I ever expected. But that doesn’t mean I can or should call the shots. One of the ways God has been forcing me to learn humility is through my job. Before I left, I was a crew supervisor for about a year. Now that I’m home, most of the current supervisors who I used to be above are now above me. It was a hard transition at first, but certainly a humbling one. I’m learning that even when I think I know best, I have to trust the leadership placed over me. I have a feeling this is a lesson that I will look back upon in the future with gratitude.
- Community. Obviously, on the Race, I learned a crazy ton about community. I lived with at least 4 other people for eleven months. If that doesn’t grow you, I don’t know what will. But I also became very accustomed to that form of community. Now that I’m home, many of my friends have moved, some just an hour or so away, and others to different states. That, combined with finishing the Race, left me with a bit of a void in the area of community. But I’ve been learning that it can take so many different shapes, and to look for it in different places than I did before. Already I’ve become so much closer to people I never used to talk to, as well as to some that are new to town.
- Kingdom. Jesus taught us how to bring God’s Kingdom to earth. I put that into practice for eleven months. Now that I’m back in America, in the familiar, its a lot harder to live out His Kingdom. My flesh is so scared to put my reputation on the line like that. But my spirit longs to see Him glorified here. Kingdom living looks different in different settings, but I’ve been learning to make it the norm. Whether that means praying for healing for somebody, sharing a story of God’s love, or simply showing somebody kindness, these small rebellions bring His Kingdom here, now.
I hope this has been able to speak to you in some way, as well as share with you whats going on in my life. I believe that we are called to share whats happening in our lives and what God is teaching us in order to grow each other, for iron to sharpen iron. If you have any questions, or if there is anything God has been teaching you lately, please share in the comments!
I have to final things to mention. First, I have just launched my new website! I will continue to blog here, but the blogs will also be copied onto this website for the day when I no longer am on this site. I will also be launching a photo gallery, as well as hopefully some other features, in the near future. You can check that out at katiemcneil.weebly.com.
Finally, I will be starting a new series of blogs in the next week or so, called The Stories I Never Told. As I’ve been sharing about my time on the Race, I’ve realized how many stories I never shared in a public capacity, especially on my blog. So I will be posting at least one blog per country, sharing things I never shared. This could be anything from stories of ministry to funny things that happened. Be on the lookout for that!
As always, thanks for reading!
