For the first half of our month, my team was in charge of gardening and other miscellaneous duties every morning. You haven’t lived until you’ve cut a field of grass by hand. I’m talking grabbing a patch of grass and sawing it off with a tiny machete looking thing. So satisfying.
Anyway, one morning we were getting rid of hay in one of the already existing gardens. As I sat pulling it out, blade by blade, I was reminded of summers at my grandparents’ house. Precious memories where I’d help my Mamaw cut fresh flowers for the dinner table or water the petunias. I spent more hours than I can count climbing their magnolia trees. The longer I worked the Ethiopian soil, the more I was taken back to my childhood. I was always, always outside. I climbed all the trees and stomped through all the mud. I caught tadpoles and built forts. I was carefree and fearless and definitely not afraid to get dirty. Even as an adult, I’m still happiest when I’m covered in paint or clay.
When we decide to follow Christ, He invites us into that same childlike freedom. Do you remember life before expectation and comparison and responsibility crept in? Kids believe they are capable of everything. They love big and dream even bigger. God wants you to return to that peace and carelessness by walking through life with him. We can show up, covered in dirt, in our torn and tattered ‘outside’ clothes, and he’ll welcome us with open arms. He’s unafraid of our mess. He wants to wash us clean and carry all the hard and heavy stuff. Life isn’t meant to be full of anxiety, which brings me to childlike faith.
Childlike faith means believing God is capable of anything. That he is Creator, Healer, Redeemer, Father, and Friend. He is good in all he does and deserves all the glory. It means walking out the overused verses that have become cliche.
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. Do you truly believe you can do anything?
We are halfway through our World Race (whaaat?!), and I’m daily learning to walk out childlike faith. Over the last six months, we’ve been asked to wear many different hats. We show up to each country expected to fill many different roles that sometimes we have zero experience or knowledge of. It can feel daunting at times, but what a cool chance to let God step into our weakness and show his strength.
When I started the Race 6 months ago, I had never worked with special needs kids. I’ve since had the privilege to chaperone multiple trips to the movies and zoo with 20-30 special needs orphans. In two countries. Big groups of people and public speaking are my biggest fears, but I was able to share really painful parts of my story at a retreat in hopes of bringing healing to the women devastated by the Thai sex trafficking industry.
We’ve had the privilege of serving orphans, widows, slums, churches, NGOs, schools, and even a bakery.
I’ve been a teacher, designer, painter, lego-builder, baker, ice cream scooper, soccer ref, babysitter, closet organizer, gift shopper, photographer, chicken fryer, dish washer, packer and mover, animal balloon maker, bubble tea delivery girl, dolphin wrangler, the list goes on.
And most recently, I made my debut as a donkey in the Christmas play we put on for our Ethiopian kiddos.
Y’all, most of these things do not come naturally to me (obviously^). In fact, at the beginning of the Race, they brought up some serious anxiety. But childlike faith says I can do all things because my God is bigger and greater than anyone or anything. He is bigger than fear or anxiety. He is so good to step in when we are at the end of ourselves, to the point that I now look forward to those uncomfortable situations to let God show up and do his thing.
Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has supported, prayed, encouraged, and loved me the last six months. Y’all make it so hard but so easy to be away from home! I miss y’all more than words, but can’t imagine being anywhere else. Here’s to the next 5 months being even crazier for Christ!
