It has been a journey to get here . . . and we are still eight months away from our launch date. However, our acceptance to the race was a year long journey that was definitely worth the wait.
James and I applied to the world race back in the summer of 2013 and we were hoping to leave in July 2014. That month has come and gone, and we are still here. The first time we applied we were declined. I, the one who had really really wanted to go, was holding us back (or that is how I felt) and James, the one who was hesitant, was the one who was okay to go.
The World Race is not for perfect people, but I understand that it will be a stressful and trying 11 months and the racers have to have a certain amount of physical and emotional stamina. It was my emotional past that was holding me back. I had struggled through depression in high school, and that depression would appear for brief moments throughout my adult life. The World Race said that we could reapply, but only after I had six months of counseling to make sure I had worked through my past and learned more about my current depression.
I did not want to go to counseling. I would not go to counseling.
I was resistant. Going to counseling meant admitting that I was broken. I do not even like to take Tylenol for a headache as it means admitting that I am in pain.
But we are all broken aren’t we? Isn’t that why God is called our Wonderful Counselor in Isaiah 9:6? It was okay to be broken. God is waiting there to help piece me back together into an even more beautiful creation. I went to counseling. It was a great experience.
James and I applied for the world race again in 2014. Our marriage and emotional life are better and stronger than they were in 2013. It was like God knew what He was doing. He was telling us to wait. “Not yet” He whispered, “but soon.” Well, soon has become September 2015 and we are eager to see how God will be breaking us and putting us back together during the next part of our journey.
