For some people there is a bible verse, for some it’s God speaking to them, and for others it’s a sequence of events and conversations. For me, it was the latter.
I found out about The World Race through my brother, Nicholas’s, friends when I went to a cookout with him in July 2013. At that point I was considering going on a mission trip or finding another way to serve God and others. So hearing about The World Race was perfect timing, God’s timing. On the way home I mentioned to Nicholas that I might be interested in going on The Race or something like it. I got home and looked it up; everything about it was both exciting and scary. I went through a mix of emotions from, “I would LOVE to do this, I NEED to do this!” To “I CAN’T do this. It’s too long of a trip and too much money to even think about raising.”
Over the next 4 months, I had a few conversations with friends, prayed about applying for The Race, and had even started an application. My friends and family told me that they supported whichever decision I made. My Aunt and Uncle told Nicholas and I at dinner one night that we shouldn’t let anything hold us back from our dreams. My Mom told me that she had been praying that I find direction with my life, while my Dad naturally wanted me to have bodyguards (typical dad), but he was supportive nonetheless. I also had friends ask me every time I saw them if I had applied yet. Looking back, a long series of events, conversations, and prayers led me towards The Race.
It wasn’t until one of my close friends, Jess, who was also interested in The Race, told me that she applied and got accepted that I finally broke down and applied. I went home, clicked on the route that she was going on, and hit apply now. It turns out it was the same route I previously started an application for but never finished. This was another confirmation that this is what my next step needed to be.
God’s timing is an interesting thing, it’s always spot-on whether we realize it or not. What took my friend 4 days, took me 4 months. I am a firm believer that He knew exactly what he was doing with His timing.
