As I've begun telling people about The Race, I've witnessed a common reaction: "Woooah! That's a long time!" and particularly during this time of year (December) people quickly realize and tell me – "you won't be here for Christmas next year" or "You won't be here for your 25th birthday… or winter… or (if you're one of my best-friends) you might miss my wedding." Even my Grandparents threw out the potential that they may not be here when I return.
The answer to all is "Yes, you're right." I will not be here for Christmas next year, I will miss out on a season of snowboarding; there is a chance I will not be my best-friend's Maid-Of-Honor and my Grandparents might meet up with Jesus before I return. My frame of mind and reaction stems from the words of our Lord in both Luke 9:60: "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." and Matthew 6:34: "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough troubles of it's own."
My longtime and closest friend sent me her devo the other day with a short message saying how it reminded her of me and how proud she was that I was her friend.
When we talk about the call of God, we often forget the most important thing, namely, the nature of Him who calls. There are many things calling each of us today. Some of these calls will be answered and others will not even be heard. The call is the expression of the nature of the one who calls and we can only recognize the call if that same nature is in us. The call of God is the expression of God's nature, not ours. God providentially weaves the threads of His call through our lives, and only we can distinguish them. It is the threading of God's voice directly to us over a certain concern and it is useless to seek another person's opinion of it. Our dealings over the call of God should be kept exclusively between ourselves and Him.
The call of God is not a reflection of my nature; my personal desires and temperament are of no consideration. As long as I dwell on my own qualities and traits and think about what I am suited for, I will never hear the call of God. But when God brings me into the right relationship with Himself, I will be in the same condition Isaiah was. Isaiah was so attuned to God, because of the great crisis he had just endured, that the call of God penetrated his soul. The majority of us cannot hear anything God says. But to be brought to the place where we can hear the call of God is to be profoundly changed.
The reality is, I've worked quite hard to get to this point in my life – to begin my All-American Dream which includes a "big girl job" doing what I love, growing to be content with where I live and the people that surround me. Shoot, I was just about to get a dog to solidify it all.
It was at this point on my journey, when I was ready to comfortably settle in – that God came barging in and decided it'd be a great time to uproot me. My answer was "Really. You're ready to send me NOW? Okay, let's do it." As the devotion states, "…to be brought to the place where we can hear the call of God is to be profoundly changed."
I've been profoundly changed over the past couple years. This change has enabled me to hear and respond to His calling. I'm being called – this time to serve The Lord, face the unknown and trust Him to be profoundly changed yet again and… THAT is worth the risk of missing out on a year's worth of moments here in Colorado.
