Disclaimer: I started writing this while I was sitting on the airplane to Peru. I finished writing it on my second full day in Peru. So I apologize for shifting point of view. I liked my paragraph describing the plane ride, and I liked my last sentence, and I did not want to decide between the two. So instead of fixing the infrastructure of this blog post, I am writing this handy little disclaimer instead. That’s all. Carry on.
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An aside: Here is my view out our bathroom window overlooking La Victoria in Lima, Peru. Because blogs with pictures are better.
Okay, on to the main event…
It’s been 9 months now since I signed up to go on the World Race. That’s enough time to produce a brand new tiny human! Yikes, second sentence in and I’m already digressing, I need to get more sleep…
Anyway, I remember laying my head on my pillow at night, my window cracked open, a breeze on my face; the sound of trains in the distance, and the thrill of adventure in my heart. I could barely stand the wait to find out if I would be accepted or not.
A few days later, I finally got the call. “We’d like to invite you to join the World Race.” Yes, please! From that moment on, my whole life has been a progression toward this moment: Getting on the airplane to our first country. Peru, here we come!
But even if for some reason I wasn’t sitting on a giant 747, not listening to this snazzy Billy Joel album courtesy of Delta Airlines, nor about to enjoy my complementary mini-beverage with free refills, the past 9 months would still be worth it.
I found out that when you decide to close one chapter of your life, to leave behind your home, your job, your friends, your family, and move on to a new place, a new chapter, three things happen:
-First, you no longer take for granted all the people you love and the places you enjoy because you realize a time will come when they will no longer be readily available to you.
-Second, all the ways you’ve not been the best steward of the current season of your life become very apparent. Hindsight is 20/20, allegedly.
-And third, you are tempted to burn bridges with those people in your life whom you struggle to love, cut your losses, cut their losses, and move on.
This might not be the experience of everyone who has ever left his/her life behind, but that is how it went down for me. By God’s grace, my heart then desired to cherish each moment with loved ones, to repent of my unfaithfulness, and to strive for reconciliation in broken relationships before setting out on the World Race. I wanted to leave well, and I believe, for the most part, I did.
Seeing the growth that God has produced in my heart these past nine months, toward him and in love for others, makes every sacrifice of the next eleven months already worth it.
I’ll share a few of those particular stories with you soon. For now, I need to go take a shower!
-Heather
