I have a confession to make. I am not living the life you think I am.
I wish I was living that life because its the life I thought I thought I was signing up for this year. You know what I’m talking about – whizzing around exotic countries on the backs of motorcycles, carrying a chicken under my arm that we will kill and cook for dinner tonight, my body sun burnt and mosquito bite ridden, laying hot and exhausted in my tent after a long day of loving on orphans, listening to the sounds of wildlife around me as I drift into a deep sleep where God is going to give me these insane visions and the next morning I am going to wake up completely overwhelmed with joy and thankfulness and God is going to use me to heal someone in the village on my daily walk to the well to collect water for my morning bucket shower.
HAHA. Wouldn’t that be great?
Want to know what most days ACTUALLY look like?
This month, they begin at 6 am when my teammate Sarette’s phone blares the beginnings of Edward Sharp’s ‘Home’ and as the florescent light of our tiny hotel room is flipped on, I usually let out an audible groan and roll over, pulling the covers over my head trying to pretend that the morning hasn’t yet arrived. I wait until the very last second to pull myself from my bed, brace myself for the cold that will hit my system because we have air conditioning this month (and we are taking full advantage of it), throw on yesterday’s clothes, and pile into the tuktuk that is waiting to take us to ministry. I sneak in a few minutes of quiet time as a couple of my teammates help Straightutit prepare breakfast (pancakes, bacon, and eggs – rough I know). Our team eats together with the Cambodian staff of the English school we are working at for the month. Afterwards, we clean up, practice English with the staff, do some odd jobs around the school, play with the kids during the break, help cook lunch, and drink iced coffee to beat the afternoon heat. When school is done, we head to a coffee shop where we hang out as a team, snag some wifi, eat dinner, have feedback and then walk back to our rooms and crash for the night.
Just a little different right?
It continuously amazes me at how “normal” life on the Race is. I spent months fighting to lay down my expectations of what I wanted the year to look like while simultaneously holding out hope for at least one “quintessential World Race month” like the one described earlier on. But half way through month 7, I’m finally facing the fact that life on the Race is indeed very normal. And I am so grateful. If the Race was this ridiculous spiritual mountain top experience, I anticipate that I would return back the US in a state of panic because God suddenly didn't feel close or real because "crazy" things weren't happening all the time. It may sound crazy, but its been through the normalcy and almost boring rhythms that God is teaching and molding me most.
I think that too many of us have bought into the lie that we have to be doing something that looks radically different with our lives in order for it to be meaningful. We get in these ruts and let our routines overshadow the adventure that is lurking around every corner. The mundane creeps in and steals our zest for living, leaving us lusting after something different, something more profound. It doesn’t help that when we log into Facebook or scroll through our Instagram feeds, all we see the best of everyone’s else lives, moments that have been transformed by fancy filters and dressed up with witty wording. It becomes easy to slip into comparison and start believing the lie that we aren't living an exciting enough life.
When did the fact we get to live life lose its significance? When did we stop seeing the adventure in the ordinary days?
Everyday we get the opportunity to live. Every morning we wake up breathing (which in itself is incredible) and get another opportunity to jump fully into what God has for us that day. Everyday we get to experience the beauty of creation and the reality of the brokenness that comes from the fall; we occupy the space between the two and have the opportunity to bring joy and light to dark places. It doesn’t matter if you spend your days working in an office or sitting in classrooms or wandering around the world; the opportunity is still there.
Every morning God invites us to be apart of what He is doing. It blows my mind that the Creator of the universe wants to use us -imperfect, selfish, lazy, cowardly humans – to bring the Kingdom here. He doesn't need us and it would be a whole heck of a lot easier if He did it himself but He wants to do it with us. And the Lord keeps reiterating one thing over the past 6 months its that everyday with Him is a crazy adventure – even the most mundane of days.
And you know what? Choosing to say “YES” to what He is doing in the ordinary moments is changing my life.
What was supposed to be an ordinary coffee date turned into an incredible afternoon of sharing the Gospel and wrestling with the pillars of the faith with two Vietnamese friends who would accept Christ less than 24 hours later.
What had been an entirely normal bible study with a group of teenage girls who were too timid to speak ended with them belting out praises to the Lord with the most incredible harmonies that would forever change the way I see worship.
What started off being an ordinary stroll along the beach to catch up and swap stories about the month ended with me in the water getting baptized by one of my best friends.
What had started as an ordinary walk through another neighborhood ended with carrying a child in my arms for hours who God used to give me a deeper understanding for the depth of His love for us.
God is waiting to transform the ordinary moments into something extraordinary. He wants to use you, exactly where you are, doing exactly what you are doing, to bring His Kingdom here. (He put you there for a reason after all!) So start asking Him what He has for you today and be attentive to what He is showing you and how He is leading you.
Most of life is ordinary moments but these moments that are dripping with potential and adventure. What if we dared to see adventure in the ordinary? I think everything would change.
So this is my confession: I am not living the life I imagined I would be but I am fighting to see the adventure in the ordinary as I continue to learn what it means to live a life of radical obedience to the One who set life into motion. It's exciting. It's hard. But it's beautiful and I invite you to do the same.
I am only $836.41 away from being FULLY FUNDED! If you feel led to partner with me in this adventure with the Lord, click on the link on the left hand side below my profile picture! Any amount is an incredible blessing!
