Ruby Lopez, of the July 2013 T Squad, found her voice on the World Race.
This fun, vivacious New Yorker packs a whole lot of power into that little body. She brings laughter, hope, fun, and life to her squadmates. But it wasn’t always that way. Her story includes the tension and conflict of being teased and bullied, causing her to both store up anger and keep her mouth shut.
We’re so glad it didn’t stay shut.
Ruby is using her voice to change the world. Some days that means she’s preaching or teaching. Other days she’s throwing down some spoken word or speaking truth and encouragement over the lives of her teammates and friends. And she says it all started at Training Camp:
“I was never the person to encourage people. In fact, it’s been a struggle, because a lot of times I come off as harsh. It just wasn’t in my nature to put my arm around someone and speak life into them. I was shocked at how easily it came to me. I shared this with my squadmate Amanda and the last night before we left she pulled me aside saying,
“What if the encouraging Ruby is the real Ruby, and all the other stuff is a lie?”
And a lie it was. Ruby has come to live on the Race, using her voice to speak truth and hope to an audience that spans generations.
“Before the Race I knew I wanted to travel the world and speak into the lives of young people, encouraging them and bringing them hope when they feel hopeless.
It’s a lot easier to motivate a large group of people rather than one on one. But coming on the Race, the Lord revealed to me things He sees in His children individually and I had to share it with them.
Having the gift to speak into people’s lives is a difficult challenge because my words impact others.
If I say harsh things that are not in line with the word of God and are out of my flesh, I can break the relationships I have with people. It’s easy to break a relationship that you have working on for months in a matter of seconds when speaking out of anger, frustration or hurt.
The Race (and life) is about relationship. You can’t get away from people. You have to choose to invest in others and allow them to invest in you.
Admitting that you are broken and allowing your squad to speak into your life through both encouragement and rebuke is crucial.”
But for Ruby, her words haven’t just been for her squad, her contacts, or her friends and family. They’ve been for you. Whoever you are. If you’re reading this, she’s got something to say to you.
Jesus has shown Ruby truth about himself, and we think it’s something you need to hear.
Check it out.
A Story of Redemption from samantha kolden on Vimeo.
“Open page.
Read the lines written in my sheets of paper
I have nothing to hide.
My story is filled with dark scribbled lines
And stains from my carelessness
All the mismatched words
And random flow of events make my story mine…
I was ashamed if what my pages would reveal
My fear of judgement kept me locked up
It held my back to share a story if Grace…
I never truly trusted him
Never accepted his love
I never found my identity in Him alone
To me it didn’t seem enough…
It wasn’t until I was stripped from all that I loved
That I realized he is more than enough…
Flip the page.
The ink from the pen had not run dry
It is handled gently by the hand from on high
The story doesn’t end there.”
Ruby’s story doesn’t end here, and neither does yours.
She’s got a few months left on the Race and then a lifetime to watch Jesus use her words to change the world. We’re thankful that the encouraging Ruby is the real Ruby, and that we’ve had the gift of her on the Race.
How will you let your words change the world? Whether you want to write, speak, teach, blog, or simply be a good friend, we invite you to do so with us.
