Transitioning back home from the World Race is a challenge every time. I just got back from my third race after leading a WR gap year trip for the last nine months and having to “re-enter” back to American culture is as trying a task as any month on the Race.
Sure, seeing my brother and sisters, mom and dad, little niece Samantha and my new nephew Gabriel helped out a lot with this transition back “home”, however, leaving the race is still one of those hurdles every World Racer faces.
If you don’t approach re-entry well you can find yourself lying face down on the track wondering why you aren’t moving forward.
Returning to the states was not difficult for me in all the ways you may have heard, or have thought, about leaving the third world.
I’ve had the common reactions at the grocery store, where, you go from a four choice selection over seas to a wonderland of sugar and color in the states. It’s perplexing at first.
Or that time after my first World Race in 2012 when my parents took me out to dinner and I had to go to the restroom after looking at the menu because the prices for a meal was what I had been spending in a week over seas and could feed a family from where I had just left.
Those times were a stretch, but those aren’t the hurdle I’m referring to. In those instances, I learned to be content in abundance. That the Lord has blessed our nation and to be thankful for those blessing.
My hurdle lies in my loss of community.
One of the biggest revelations I’ve received from my life following the Lord is His heart for the church.
It’s the love we have for each other that lets the world see the heart of the Father. Jesus prayed for unity within his disciples before he was going to be brutally killed and abandoned. The race truly does give people the opportunity to walk in that love and unity He prayed for.
It’s why I love the race.
But when the race ends, each time I feel that loss of connection with those people closest to me. It hurts, but that loss doesn’t keep me from investing again. It just forces me to seek the Lord more.
I’ve loved being back in Gainesville for project searchlight. For those of you unfamiliar with project searchlight it’s an opportunity for squads to debrief how their transition home is going and it takes place in Georgia about a month after getting home.
More importantly than the debriefing time is the time you take to set aside and seek the Lord for your next season and thank Him for the last.
Seeking the Lord takes more intentionality in the States.
Between data, and Facebook and Netflix and comfy beds, being intentional takes real effort.
Project searchlight has been a time for me to grieve the loss of a good season of life and thank the Lord for it. A time to see my squad walking out their identities and using their gifting.
I love Jason’s heart for mercy, Kyle’s goodness and kindness, Caleb’s passion for worship, Mckayla’s steadfastness and peace, Emily’s gentleness, Lincoln and Sarah Catherine’s ear for the Lords voice.
These are the gifts given for the Church and if in a season of loss or transition you aren’t intentional with being plugged into the body or seeking the Father you may find that next hurdle in life to high to clear.
Thanks for supporting me as I lead.
This season has really been a blessing and I look forward to the next.
