We all know this feeling. Married or not. The feeling that comes after the excitement of something dies down; when the honeymoon is over, the high wears off, and reality sets in.
Since I promised honesty in my blogging, I will admit I have hit this stage. The “high” of being accepted to the World Race has faded (don’t worry, it won’t ever completely diminish!). The anticipation of people’s response to our journey has worn off. And the fun of support raising is no longer … well … fun.
We all experience these highs – after graduating high school or college; after announcing an engagement, marriage, or pregnancy; after attending a church camp, conference, or retreat. We all go through this emotion: where the high wears off.
And the craziest part is that we tend to live for these highs instead of from these highs.
Let me explain. For example, you go to a conference. God does something huge in your heart! He speaks a promise to you, heals you, or takes you deeper with Him. You leave the conference on cloud 9. A few weeks pass by and that feeling wears off. You are now in a valley. And instead of resting on that which God did at the conference, we tend to lay in the valley waiting for the next conference to bring us our fix.
But we are human. We only want to feel positive emotions and experience positive seasons. We don’t want experience lows. And we don’t want to be vulnerable with others and admit that we are in a dry season and need some encouragement.
Well, again, I am going to admit it. My “high” has faded. While I can’t fully explain why, I can surely point out a few speculations that I have.
1. Time has passed and I am tired. We are 4 months into this process and the initial announcement has come and gone. We are now in “full-prep” mode. We are preparing spiritually, emotionally, physically, mentally, and financially. We are preparing all while we work, finish school, and take care of our families. Preparation is daunting and it wears you out! I am tired!!
2. I feel annoying. Why? Because most of my social media posts are about the World Race; and many of my conversations with people have the World Race intertwined in them, in some way. I have moved from excitement to feeling like an annoyance. (Yes, I know I am probably overthinking this and most people are not annoyed … yet!)
3. Financially, I feel let down. Everyone who knows me, knows I am a planner. I like checking off the details that come with that plan. My initial plan for support-raising is not lining up. I had a specific dollar amount for each month laid out that we needed to raise, in order to leave fully funded in September. We are not meeting those goals! Part of me, ok most of me, blames myself. Maybe I am not making enough of an effort? Am I being lazy? Should I be asking more? Maybe I should talk with the next person I see on the street about our need. I tend to go a little crazy the more I over-plan.
In each of these reasons, I have found a common denominator that seems to be the problem. ME. My lack of trust in God. I need to rely on His strength to get over my tiredness, on His acceptance to get over feeling annoying, and on His goodness to supply for us financially.
As I process through these emotions, I am reminding myself – this isn’t about the Spriggs. This is about God. The glory is His. Not ours. He calls us and He equips us.
So … does anyone have some wisdom, encouragement, and/or scripture for us in this time? Our go to scripture at this moment is:
There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears. Philippians 1:6 (MSG)
We could use the encouragement and scripture during this time! Please be praying for us as we continue to process and prepare. We love you & thank you for everything you have done for us up to this point: financial support, words of encouragement, prayer, and random texts, calls, and letters – but I am asking for you to reply and help encourage us!
Loving the Least,
The Spriggs
