The world race is both the longest and shortest thing you’ll ever experience. It’s a strange feeling with which I have a love-hate relationship. I can’t believe month one of my race is already coming to a close. This amazing place and these amazing people have taught me so much in such a short period of time. The most significant lesson I’m taking with me from here is to always roll with the punches.
Life is never going to go exactly how you planned. Sometimes you’ll have a perfect weekend adventure planned out, filled with comforts from home. But those plans can easily be tarnished when your van breaks down on the side of the road while carrying all 13 of you. Or when your host surprisingly announces that you won’t be home for 4 days when you only packed for one night. Sometimes your teammates sprain their ankles or get sick and plans have to me maneuvered last minute.
Never take yourself too seriously. People are going to laugh at you when you speak broken Spanish with your Texan accent. You’re going to slide ten feet on your butt in the mud while holding a 13 foot palm leaf, so learn to laugh with the crowd. Community breaks down every single boundary and personal barrier that you have, so let people see the weird parts of you without it becoming awkward.
Let it go and let it be. If you’re a stubborn and hard headed person (such as myself), you’re going to be frustrated 24/7 because NOTHING is going to go how you wanted and planned. So when half of your team (including yourself), misses their bus and ends up missing a whole day of ministry because they’re stranded 4 hours away, just laugh and shake it off.
I’ve always been a person who plans out my life day by day, down to the minute. And I’m guilty of having an end-of-the-world complex when things didn’t go exactly how I anticipated. Costa Rica has given my quite the wake up call (more like it dropped me flat on my face), and taught me day by day just how important it is to just roll with the punches. And honestly, I couldn’t be more grateful. Month one of my race is done, and I’ve already learned so much. I can’t wait to see what else Jesus opens my eyes to during this year.
