Who am I?
My name is Paul Milburn. I am a 23-year-young man who just recently finished an undergraduate degree in business administration. I’m an animal lover, a writer, a photographer, a traveler at heart, a nerd and a geek, a best man, a son, a brother, and about as stubborn as they come. But most importantly, I am a son of the living God, buried with Christ and raised with Him into eternal life.
I’ve been a Christian for about five years, which is a story I’ll tell later. In that time, though, I can say I’ve never felt close to God. I’ve never felt like I’ve truly known Him as a friend or as a father. Sure, I could see clearly how He provided for me in some of the worst moments of my life. If the subject comes up, I don’t hide the fact that He is the only reason I am alive today. But from the lowest valley to the highest peak, I never felt like God was really close to me.
That didn’t stop me from serving my church in any way that my gifts allow me to do. It didn’t stop me from talking to God, mentally knowing that, even if I didn’t feel like it, He was listening to me. It didn’t stop me from signing up to go to Cambodia with Adventures in Missions. I actually just got back from that trip earlier this week. And that was the closest I’ve ever felt to God. Hope can be found even in the darkest of places, if one only remembers to look to the Light. (Props to anyone who knows where I got that line from, bonus points if you can pick out which words I’ve changed.)
Of course, I signed up for the World Race before I went to Cambodia. God kept bringing my attention back to it, and I knew I couldn’t ignore the call. And now, having experienced God like I did in just the one week I was on the other side of the world, I can’t wait to see how He will show Himself to me on the Race.
I’ll close with a video I saw years ago, one step among many that ultimately led to this moment in my life.
