Over the last couple of months I have been trading messages with a girl that I knew back in elementary school. She was in my brother’s class, but our families knew each other growing up. Honestly, I have to admit, when I first saw her name pop up, I didn’t know what to think. I knew it was familiar, but it took a while to put the pieces together. Finally, everything clicked and God just began to set some big steps in motion.
Allison has been working in New York for the past season of her life, and is really in an ideal situation for most people. However, for her, things just weren’t satisfying. She told me in her first message that some of my stories from my blog reminded her of the heart she used to have for the nations. The only problem was that she could never walk away from this perfect situation for something as crazy as The World Race. When I talk to people, I tell them the honest truth about the Race. There are many pros/cons, big time positives and big time negatives. We never really talked about her going, just debated the program.
After a couple of short weeks, I got a shocking message that told me she had just been accepted to The World Race and would leave in January. Fast forward a couple of weeks and many long messages and Allison is just a few weeks away from leaving the country. She has left New York, quit her job, and moved back to her parent’s hometown. The seemingly never ending task of support letters, moving homes, and trips to REI are officially in full swing. Her training camp and team introductions just happened a couple of weeks ago and the countdown to launch has begun.
I’m actually meeting with Allison in a couple of weeks and was planning on sharing her story then, but I was just inspired by her last few months earlier today. Especially after my thoughts on yesterday’s blog and how we just need to make things happen. At some point, it can’t be enough to just be satisfied with good intentions. I encourage action. I always do.
Allison is yet another person taking off on this crazy journey. I know not everyone has the ability to do this, but we can all respond to a call to action. If you want to follow Allison, just click on any of the links tagged to her name. Sign up for her updates, send her encouragements, or just be inspired to action through her stories. You never know what will spark something in you too. I don’t think she ever expected it either…
