What is it that really motivates us to step outside our norm? We’ve talked, pondered, and prayed about this for quite some time now. After a few months of much prayer and consideration, we decided that yes, The World Race is where God is calling us.
Prayer, just the power of prayer, is where it all begins…
After marrying in January last year, we moved to Charleston, WV to begin our life together. Although adjusting to the “real world” takes some time, we quickly fell into a comfortable routine. Two of the first things we learned were being young and married is exciting and opportunities are endless. With excellent jobs, a cozy apartment, a nice car, and energy bursting at the seems, who could want more? We started off with more than what some people work for years to attain, and yet something was missing. From day one, there’s been an unexplainable desire in each of us for something bigger.
We began praying and seeking the Lord’s guidance, and came to realization that while there was no denying the fact that we felt God working on our hearts, he had us in Charleston for the time being. There was a purpose in being here which meant we needed to be present in all we were involved in rather than always looking for our next direction.
In an effort to more diligently seek God‘s wisdom in understanding our roles in Charleston, our prayer board was created. Hanging above our computer, covered with pictures of our friends in ministry, it is a constant reminder to pray for our friends currently in many different mission fields. We are blessed with lots of missionary friends and our prayer board is proof that it takes those who will go AND those who will send! It’s easy, working in the secular workforce, to feel that our jobs and routines are inadequate in contrast to those living overseas. However, we’ve learned over the past few years that, as Christians, sending those that God has called is a very important call!
At the beginning of 2011, we made a few small additions to the board. Still feeling a desire for something beyond our ordinary lives, we decided to add pictures of important aspects of our married life. These pictures represent different parts of our life. These parts are like a puzzle, and would eventually fit into one single picture. The pictures included the cross, the world, a stethoscope, the beach, and Charleston. Although individually unrelated, these pictures represent our passion! The cross speaks for itself. Glorifying God is first and foremost in anything we set out to do. The world represents our love for travel and adventure. Each of us thoroughly enjoys traveling and learning new cultures. The stethoscope represents Ashley’s love for nursing and serving others. The beach, well, we both LOVE warm weather, sunshine, and the ocean. Charleston was included because while there are many reasons we enjoy living in Charleston, we’ve always felt that this would not be our last stop. With our pictures posted, we continued to pray.
Our prayer board, more than anything, was a great exercise in discipline for us. We had no idea what God had in store for us, but we did know that He tells us to pray and seek Him. Praying over our future, without expectation, is a daunting task! Obedience is not easy. In the first 3.5 months of 2011, we saw exciting proof in our lives of “be careful what you pray for!!”
In January, a pastor in North Carolina challenged his congregation to not make New Year’s resolutions. Instead, he posed the idea to prayerfully decide upon one single word that would ultimately set the tone of your heart for the upcoming year. This word was supposed to reflect how God was working in your life, good or bad. It would act as guidance as the months go by and the seasons change. Instead of failing to achieve numerous lofty goals, our words could be our personal theme. We thought this sounded like an interesting change from the typical resolution, so each decided on a word. John Michael chose Pure. Purity is something he wants to strive for in body, mind, heart, and soul. His goal is to be pure with his thoughts, motives, and actions. Ashley chose obedience. She felt that obedience represents her need to trust God in His plans for our life.
The interesting thing about the past few months of our life is that God has shown that if we seek Him, we will find Him! He’s here- ready to move in our life, as soon as we are ready and willing to let go of control.
While reading an article about graduate school from Relevant Magazine’s site, John Michael saw a link to Adventures in Missions. It was advertised as “other options” when graduate school was not for you. It immediately sparked an interest. This is where he found the World Race. We were not aware that something like this was out there! We applied somewhat impulsively, and before we knew it, we were accepted to the September squad. We prayed that if this is what God had planned for us that He would open doors for us to go on the Race. Needless to say, doors have been flung open. Now begins the crazy process of raising support, transitioning out of our jobs, moving out of our apartment and putting everything in storage. We’re eagerly waiting to see how God will move in us and through us on the Race this year.
