I can count on two hands how many days I have until I get home…
I remember staying up ALL night the night before I left freaking out because I was going to leave something…
I remember getting to Guatemala with a duffel bag, book bag, and a very very stuffed pack
realizing i had TO MUCH STUFF && getting rid of 75% of it within the first 3 months…
I remember laying in the hospital in Thailand, on pain medicine thinking if I can just get better
&& my leg heal I'll be able to finish this thing…
I remember being so homesick and praying for a plane ticket to South Carolina in month 8…
I remember finally feeling like I could do this and realizing that I have all my life to go home
&& wishing I would have understood that concept 10 months ago…
&& I remember
every tear,
every laugh,
every fear,
every moment that changed my life,
every inside joke,
every teammate that touched my heart,
every squad mate that became my brother or sister,
&& I will remember this year as fast it went by as one of the best years of my life..
Being on the race isn’t easy. But it isn’t hard either…you choose your atmosphere when you land in South Africa, Honduras, or Romania.
Whatever your first country of the world race is that’s the perfect moment to set the tone for the next year.
&& trust me you will have goals and plans and all these expectations of the race and of your new family,
but I can pinkie promise half of them if not more will not go as planned…
Being a world racer you will learn how to roll with the punches, how to live a simple life, and how to let God be the director and planner of your everyday life.
When you step into this life you step out of your old life.
You no longer get to choose where you will live
or who you will live with for 11 months, all decisions are made by daddy!
deal with it…
it’s called a life of submission and it’s the best way to live life here on earth…
Over the past year I’ve made mistakes…i'm human
but I’ve also learned so many things about me and who I am in the Lord
I’ve learned that I really enjoy time alone,
that I like to read books,
I WAS very high maintenance back home,
that laughter is the best medicine,
that no grudge should be held longer than 2 days,
that confronting a situation is so much better than sweeping it under the rug,
that home is exactly the same and they haven’t put time on hold waiting for me to get back,
that life is valuable and worth living everyday to the fullest,
&& that the greatest way to see God’s beauty is to sit under an African sky and watch the stars dance to the melody of the angel’s singing in heaven..
This year has rocked my world!
Taken it,
turned it upside down,
shaken it up,
ripped all the bad stuff out from the inside,
and placed it back in perfect rotation around my father!
my teammates and I sometimes ask “would you do the race again, knowing what you know now?”
so badly I want to say “H NO!”
but I know deep in my heart that this was the best decision I’ve ever made
Saying yes to the calling of sharing the love of Christ to the nations
&& I wouldn’t change this past year for nothing in the world
I’ve realized you don’t have to travel a million miles away to do missions…
you don’t even have to leave your house
There is always someone somewhere that could use a little loving from daddy
&& it’s our jobs to be the farmers of heaven
to go out sow the seeds
&& reap the harvest of people joining the kingdom
So you may be asking “what’s next?”
well…glad you asked…
the unknown is next,
going back to America is next,
getting a part time job is next,
starting business school is next,
and most importantly bringing what I’ve learned on the race into my life back home is next.
I pray everyday that when I arrive home people will see the change from a mile away…
not by me having to tell everyone but by my actions;
through God’s light shining through me.
I hope that that light will be like a flashing sign above my head that says “IT’S THE NEW ME”
I pray for opportunities to share my heart, to share daddy’s heart, and to change the hearts of people around me with the love of the father!
Here’s to the next 10 days! May it be the best ending to the best time in the best year of my life
