Before I left in July, my mom and I took a ton of shopping trips to get gear, clothes, knick knacks, you name it. (Some of which weighs too much and therefore adds to my sweat production on travel days, but that's beyond the point.) A few of the last purchases were a pair of Gap Jeans and some Clinique makeup. We looked everywhere for some durable, long jeans that would last the year. I finally found a pair that fit well with a little wiggle room and I was happy until I saw the price. Mom was the one paying for them but I thought, "I'm a missionary! I can't possibly buy jeans that cost this much!" My mom was there to remind me that I would be wearing that one pair for an entire year and that's what helped me to justify buying them. Later on I bought some makeup to take along. The basics – you know…one or two tubes of lipstick, two mascaras, one foundation, one powder and some eyeshadow. When it runs out, it runs out. I doubt that anywhere else in the world will have the palest shade ever to work for my skin tone.
That's when I came to the mall in Romania and spotted a Clinique counter. Could this be?! I can restock before India and Nepal! I went in just to check prices and the result wasn't very good. This makeup was almost double what it costs at home. Again, I told myself that I wouldn't use that much and it would last me for months. I worried about the stupid makeup for a week before I went back yesterday to see if they had the specific type that I "needed". When the lady checked she found that it was in a different container than what I've got, so it was actually about half of the quantity and double the price. No way. Can't do it. I will just do without.
When I look back and realize how much time I really spent thinking about the possibility of buying more makeup it's embarrassing. I was asking teammates about what they were going to do about makeup and asking my parents if it was silly to spend that much. I can't believe I let myself get so worked up! And with the jeans…Kelly asked to borrow them for the "Everything" video that we made and I was hesitant to give them up because they might get dirty on the ground. Really? Haven't I read in Matthew where he says that it's crazy to worry about what you'll eat or wear? Seek the Kingdom first and God's righteousness then whatever you truly need will be provided for. I don't know that makeup on the Race is a need and I'm not saying that you should freak out every time you want to buy something new. What I learned is that the Lord has created me to understand that my beauty comes from him. I can feel beautiful after a long, dirty, sweaty day because I shared his love with some local children. I am beautiful because I'm a daughter of the King and my worth comes from Him. I'm slowly finding freedom in Christ in new ways and it's exciting. More blogs to come, but for now just know that the Lord can use you as you are, makeup and fancy blue jeans or not.
P.S. There's another fun part to the story…Sarah, Kelly and I went into another store to look around when we found some cool sunglasses. Mine are slowly breaking and they keep sliding off my face so I decided to try more on. I found a great pair with bright blue rims. I would never wear these at home but hey, I'm on the World Race right? Time to be bold. Price check, please. $4. Oh yea. Thanks, Lord for the fun provision of some cool sunglasses to make me feel bright and trendy. Love it. By the way, the whole attitude of "be bold on the World Race" should definitely carry over into "real life" once I get home. This is the cultivation of a lifestyle of following Jesus, not just a trip around the globe. Keep me in check with that, please 🙂
