Currently I am on a front porch in Nicaragua, in a hammock at 5 in the morning cocooned in a sheet in what seems to be an intense windstorm trying to distract myself from how much I have too pee because it doesn’t seem worth it to get up and actually pee. So I started thinking, well Mags, you haven’t written a blog in a bit. So here we are.
The thing that is so obviously looming on all of us here on Gap B is the ever approaching reality of return to real life. It’s a little crappy to be honest. No one really wants this to end. But at some point we’re going to have to huh? The never ending question of, “What are you going to do after the race?” Is racing through everyone’s heads. This was a question 2 years ago I thought I had all together. But, here I am 20 and God is already twisting and turning my life around. And I just want to write this blog to say to you all, it’s okay to be scared when God flips your life around but it’s not okay to try to ignore it.
Last week I had the amazing opportunity to get to serve with my squad mates parents and Big Daddy Randy in Granada for a week. It was fun and hard and annoying and amazing all at the same time. The most beautiful thing was watching all these adults who thought they had it together, get their worlds hit by a freight train called The World Race.
So many of these parents thought this would be a simple week to get to see their kids, but for a lot it was so much more. For many it was falling in love with REAP Granda, the mission we worked with. And for Randy it was a tug of his heart to maybe invest a little more time here in Nica.
One of the biggest blessings I have been given in this life is a dad who supports whatever I want to do. You want to be a doctor? We will find a way to pay for Vandy. You want to play softball for 12 years? I’ll drive numerous weekends and be at every game with blue powerade for days. You want to drop softball and being a doctor to do theatre, fine. I’ll be at every show and be your biggest fan. You want to drop out of college and travel the world, let’s figure out how to get the money. I’m here to tell you we ALL have one of those. A Papa Bear that will figure it all out for us and support us no matter what the next calling is. But you have to answer that calling.
Do what your king commands; you gave a sacred oath of obedience. Don’t worryingly second-guess your orders or try to back out when the task is unpleasant. You’re serving his pleasure, not yours. The king has the last word. Who dares say to him, “What are you doing?” Carrying out orders won’t hurt you a bit; the wise person obeys promptly and accurately. Yes, there’s a right time and way for everything, even though, unfortunately, we miss it for the most part. It’s true that no one knows what’s going to happen, or when. Who’s around to tell us?
Ecclesiastes? ?8?:?2-7?
Sometimes God calls us out into a small leap of faith that is scary. The only thing below us is dark waters. If you go through this hand in hand with God though, he will light the way. All you have to do is ask. That’s not always a well lit todo list that spells everything. But sometimes God gives you enough light to only see the one step in front of you. Are you gonna be brave enough to take that one step into a fuller life friends?
And I leave you friends with a challenge and a word from our good friend Joshua:
Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened and do not be dismayed, for the lord your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:5
