Be Still and Know

       I can still hear our World Race coach Gary Black say during training camp, “People won’t even recognize you. You will be a completely different person. People will think you are weird. They aren’t going to get you and it’s going to be so cool.” I do not share Gary’s enthusiasm. I love my family and friends. When I return to the States, I still want to love them and be loved by them. I don’t want to be unrecognizable and weird. So, I find myself saying that I am content just as I am. I think that I don’t want, nor do I need change. I will go through this year and return with cool stories and adventure but for the most part I’ll be the same.
       But deep inside I know that this desire is untrue. If I were completely satisfied with the way things were, I wouldn’t have left. God is calling me to something more and I want to listen. I don’t want fear keeping me from the things God wants for me. I am half-way around the world teaching people to love and trust God and am realizing I must do the same.

       Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am God.” For me, this means quieting my mind and allowing myself to hear God’s voice. I want to know what He desires for me; I want to know Him. And so, I am choosing to spend this next month in Africa without the internet. My hope is that my mind will be focused less on contacting family/friends and more centered around God and His plans.

        Please keep me in your prayers this month and know that I too will be praying for you.. As God calls to me and makes changes in my life, I pray that he is also calling to you. I pray that He is revealing Himself in new ways and increasing your faith in Him. I pray that when He calls you listen, because if God is calling me to be weird I want you to be weird too!