Going on the World Race we were told continuously not to have any expectations. I honestly was not sure what to expect and therefore never created expectations or so I thought. I knew that I was going to grow and that God was going to challenge me. I had no idea how much though. I knew that it wasn’t going to be easy.
I had created expectations of being comfortable. I have been out of my physical and spiritual comfort zone more times than I can count. It is in these moments that God has grown me the most. It is these moments that have wrecked me into pieces that only my Father could fix. These are the stories I will share for the rest of my life. It is these moments that bring tears to my eyes and make my heart swell. It’s these moments that redefine comfortable.
It’s sitting in a park at night working things out with my team.
It is praying for people in a hospital in the sweltering heat.
It is getting up at 5am to get special needs kids ready for the day.
It’s living in someone’s house and being told you do everything wrong.
It’s sleeping on the floor so often that when you get a bed it’s like heaven.
It’s eating ‘meat’ and not asking what kind.
It’s crying until you run out of tears.
It’s watching street kids open up for the first time and share their struggles.
It’s watching families sacrifice their only food for you.
It’s watching God transform members of your squad.
It’s getting healed from physical and spiritual ailments.
It’s praying for so long you forget what you started praying for.
It’s making best friends far from home and feeling like your heart was torn out when you leave them.
It’s being introduced to all the men at church that are single and want American wives. (true story)
These are only a few of the moments I have experienced in my first four and a half months on the race. Some may seem like they are not good moments but they are all used to glorify God. They spread the message and view of the kingdom. These moments have taken me from expectations to uncomfortable to growth. These moments that defied whatever expectation I could have. Expectations no longer exist in my world. God never promised them to us. I go forward on this race defying the expectations of the world and finding the greatness of the kingdom in the uncomfortable. I mean seriously what could be better.
