I am coming home in 6 days.
What?! I’ve
waited so long to be able to say that and it feels so good! I am so excited, so
ready and so pumped.
I have been on this crazy adventure for the past 11 months
called the World Race. I’ve been out of American for 11 months. I’ve seen my
friends and family over Skype or talked with them through emails (except that
one time my mom came to Kenya!) for the past 11 months.
I’m telling you all
of this to say, in only 6 days I get to hug them all, laugh with them, cry with
them, and share life with them.
This past month has been hard for me and the girls on the
team. We’ve been processing what God has been doing in our lives, what we’ve
had to give up, and the true cost of following Jesus. I was trying to think of
all the ways I’d grown during this journey and I honestly believed the lie that
I hadn’t.
I began to sit in the lie that God sent me around the world
for no reason. I didn’t want to come in the first place and now I can’t even
see the life change I’ve been through. But here’s the thing, those are lies
yes, but I set expectations for this journey before it began. Those expectations
weren’t met. I wanted to come home a completely different, I wanted to see the
Holy Spirit give me gifts I’d never imagined possible, and I wanted to become a
glorious leader.
I am doing a picture countdown on Facebook of all the things I’ll miss from the Race. This is one of the pictures. It’s with Shelley and Courtney from my team. We’re celebrating making it through these 11 months together. Even though teams changed, Shelley and Courtney and I remained together. I couldn’t have made it without them!
Somewhere during this Race I forgot what I was doing and
what I was here for. I quit pursuing holiness and settled for less.
And here is what I’ve come to a conclusion on: I’m not more
motivated to read the Bible now, I have not grown in the spiritual gifts I
wanted to, I haven’t become a more spiritual person, I still fail and settle
for less and loose my identity sometimes.
BUT I HAVE STILL GROWN AND BECOME A NEW CREATION!
This was part of our ministry this month – painting.
Tonight as I was praying through this adventure in
thankfulness, forgiveness, freedom, communion, and newness, God reminded me of
what He had truly done this year. He’s given me a new name.
I am bold and confident; I’ve always been with my words and
actions. Some people call it blunt. I’ve never understood why people don’t do
things the way I do or think the way I do, why they aren’t responsible like I am
or follow through like they should. If God gives them grace, shouldn’t I do the
same? And so, that’s one way I’ve grown. Giving other people grace in my
actions and words because that is what God does.
I used to search for approval in others. I was never a
people pleaser, but I wanted to be seen and known. God has taken me through a
process of finding myself rooted in him alone. I’ve found my identity and
freedom in being known.
I’m going home with a new identity of Freed Grace. It might
be hard, but I have my identity in Christ. I’m not going to settle for this
world. I might fail, but pursuing holiness is worth it.
If you haven’t
read my blog about what I’m doing after the Race, you might be interested. Click here to read about it: What I’m doing after the Race and Why I Choose CGA.
I need your help in raising $3,600 by September for my next adventure.
If you feel led to give financially…
- You
can give a one-time donation with your credit/debit card by going to my
‘Support Me CGA Here I Come’ link under my blog picture. - You
can give online monthly with your credit card going to my ‘Support Me CGA
Here I Come’ link under my blog picture. - You
can give automatic payments monthly through your checking account by going to: http://adventures.org/dynapay/ - Or
you can write at check and send it to PO Box 534470 Atlanta, GA 30353. Make the
check out to Adventures in Missions and put my name, Aubree Richardson, in the
memo line.
***All donations are tax-deductible
