I won’t tell you to not be afraid, because it’s okay if you are. But I will tell you to not let yourself be afraid for too long.
Don’t spend your race in fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of stepping out, fear of the approval of others, fear of weird foods, fear of hard places, maybe even fear of yourself. Whatever it is, don’t let it overcome you.
The Lord does not call us into a spirit of fear.
When you’re afraid, you miss out.
You miss out on what the Lord is doing, you miss out on beautiful memories, grand adventures, and surprisingly good food.
Put yourself out there. Choose the team, ministry, and location you are given. Don’t be afraid to try something new. Say yes to staying up late, experiencing Jesus, coffee dates, and pressing into the hardest times.
You will cry. You will be tired. You will feel like you have nothing left. You’ll want to give up. But I’m begging you don’t give up.
The hardest months on my race ended up becoming my favorites.
You have the power to choose what your race will look like.
Do you want to love people well, find freedom, experience the power of the Lord, and invest your heart wherever it is? Then do it.
However, don’t have unrealistic expectations for yourself or what the world race looks like.
Let the expectations of the Lord be your guide. Wherever He wants you and whatever He wants you doing, is exactly what you’ll be doing.
You won’t be perfect. Some days you will fail at being a teammate, fail at ministry, and fail yourself. But that’s okay.
Have grace for yourself because the Lord has grace for you.
Don’t keep the Lord in the same box you’ve kept Him in your entire life.
Who are you to define what He can and cannot do?
You probably won’t agree with everything you hear on the race, and that’s okay too.
But do not limit the Lord to the understanding of your human mind. Experience Him, in every way possible.
Most importantly, I want you to laugh.
Laugh when you mess up, laugh when you cry, laugh when you almost gag from disgusting food, laugh when you can’t understand the language, laugh when it gets hard, laugh with your teammates, laugh at embarrassing things, laugh when nothing goes your way, and finally laugh when you are simply overcome by the joy and presence of your Almighty Creator.
Embrace every moment. The beautiful ones, the hard ones, the funny ones, and even the sweaty ones.
Don’t take this beautiful, crazy, hard, messy journey for granted. Believe in yourself, the Lord believes in you; and for what it’s worth, so do I.
I’m here to tell you that it definitely won’t be easy, but it will be so worth it.
-Gabbi Ford (Gap C)
