Dear Future World Racer:
If you are one of the other 250 people who find themselves trying to process 10 days of training camp while counting down the days until January 8th, then this is for you.
I was walking to lunch yesterday, and as has been the standard lately, the 2 million things I still needed to do before leaving in 2 months were racing through my head. When I turned the corner of the street where Jimmy Johns was on, I saw a man sitting on a bench with all his belongings holding out a cup asking for money. I didn’t have any cash on me and happened to have my head phones on so I just gave him a smile as I walked by.
As I was waiting in line to order, I heard the voice of God more clearly than I have in a long time. He said: “Ryan, take off your head phones for a second and look around. You circled January 8th on your calendar the day you got home from training camp and all you have been doing since you have been home is thinking about, preparing for, and counting down the days until launch. I am glad that you are excited to walk into everything I have for you next year, but you are missing the people I want to love through you right here and right now.”
Naturally what do you do after hearing God tell you something clearly like that?
Order 2 sandwiches, one for me and one for the homeless man I saw on the street.
As I turned the corner and headed back to my office, sure enough there he was sitting in the same position. I walked up to him and introduced myself and he told me his name was David. I got the chance to talk to David, hang out with him for a few minutes, and hear some of his story.
David was an army veteran who suffered 3 strokes recently and has been in and out of shelters around the city. When we were done talking, I told him that God put him on my heart and I wanted to give one of these sandwiches to him. He looked at me with such gratitude and excitement and said “Thank you so much, this will be my dinner!” I asked him if I could pray for him and he said of course, please do. I laid hands on him and told him how much God loves him the amazing plans he has in store for him.
When I got back to my office I was full of so much Joy. That lunch really got me thinking about a concept that was tossed around a lot at training camp and that was to focus on staying in the present.
Let’s just call it what it is- we live in a world full of distractions. If we aren’t careful, these distractions can keep us from being present in the moments of our everyday life. We are bombarded 24/7 with distractions and demands for our presence, primarily through social media, television, and emails. Combine this with all the added distractions of the race, still having to work, fundraise 16K, make 20 trips to REI, and the list could go on.
With everything we have going on, we must be intentional and really focus on being present over the next 2 months and hopefully this will carry with us as we head out on the field. Being physically present is obviously important, but I believe God has called us to be much more focused and engaged in the person and/or task at hand. This requires a focused engagement of every aspect of our being including the physical, mental, emotional and even the spiritual.
So how do we accomplish this when the enemy wants to use these distractions to keep us from attaining this focus?
It may look different for each of us. Maybe it is fasting, unplugging from social media, turning off the tv for a day. Anything that helps you to be watchful, faithful, prayerful, strong, loving, and content.
One thing we all must do is stand on Truth. And that is The Word of God.
I am reminded of the verse “Be still and know that I am God”. That verse says it like no other. The Hebrew word for “be still” literally means to “cease” or “cease striving”. It means to push the pause button on and forsake everything else in our lives to focus on Him. To be present means to first and foremost ask God to be present in our lives and to focus on His presence. To fully be present in any situation or relationship we must begin there.
The race will be amazing and our lives will definitely be changed. But let us not put the race on such a pedestal that we miss what God is trying to do through us right here and right now. We could waist these next 60 days worrying and preparing for launch like the enemy wants us to, or we could use this time to dive into a deeper relationship with the one who has called us to immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine.
See you at launch!
Your fellow future world racer,
Ryan Weathington
Life is a gift, Life is short, and Life is a vapor. Live a good life – Be thankful for each day. Enjoy the blessing of each new day, living each day thankfully and gratefully, not living in the past or taking life for granted. Live for God, Live for Jesus, Live for Christ, Live in peace with everyone, Living right, Living in love, and Living your life for God.
