Before the world race, I did what everyone does when they apply/get accepted. I looked at accounts full of videos and pictures of current world racers. We all did it.
Now I am on the world race and I am the one posting the pictures, and throughout the last 4 months I have realized something important.
We build expectations based on the highlight reel. My teammates and I all experienced feelings of frustration during month one when we realized our expectations of the world race were all built on highlights. Don’t get me wrong, highlights are good. But we were faced with a reality that the majority of the race would be much less glorifying. Sure, we’ve had many “highlight” moments. But we’ve also cried, felt lonely, missed home, cried more, doubted God, doubted ourselves, pooped in bags… you get it.
I am completely guilty of posting the highlights. I try to portray realities, and shed light on ministry, and daily life. But most of my pictures come from adventure days. Why?
My SQL shed some light on this. For the most part, during ministry we don’t have our phones and cameras out, because we are focused on ministry. Seems legit.
But there are other things too. Truths behind the photos, if you will. So to be authentic and shed light on the realities of the world race, here are some truths that simply don’t get posted.
- Week ONE of the World Race, my teammate asks how I’m doing and I burst into tears because I missed my friends.
- In Chile we hiked a mountain. I posted an amazing photo on top of the world wrapped in an American flag. Reality is that on the way down we got off trail, some of us cried, and it was the most difficult and exhausting thing I’ve ever done. (still totally worth it)
- In Argentina a girl on my squad went to lay in her bunk and found a scorpion on her pillow. No one got hurt, but we always checked our pillows after that.
- When I was saying goodbye to a horse I met in Argentina it sneezed ALL over me, right before our 1.5 hour drive back to our base.
- Diarrhea and pooping in bags on a moving bus, need I say more.
- Our first week in Bolivia I threw up a LIVE parasite, we also call it a ‘swimmer’ because that’s exactly what it was doing.
- During our tour at the salt flats in Bolivia the car broke down, we didn’t see the full tour, and we were stranded for a couple hours. To make it better we got towed out with only a cut seat belt holding us to the other car.
- During our overnight layover in Lima, Peru we were woken up from deep sleep from a security guard clapping in our face telling us they needed to clean the floor and had to move.
- In Cambodia I went to a beautiful waterfall in the jungle. What you don’t know is that morning I was having diarrhea from 5am up until 7:30 when we left.
- Our sunrise viewing of Ankor Wat involved both Lauren and I falling in a ditch, lots of rain, getting hit in the face by umbrellas, and a dark gloomy sunrise that we woke up at 4am to see.
- Our ministry this month is painting for the whole entire month. Just. Painting.
The World Race is much more than the highlights. If you build your expectations on only these, I promise you will be disappointed.
But even apart from the World Race,
Life is much more than the highlights. If you build your expectations on only these, I promise you will be disappointed.
I’m just as thankful for the “lowlights” as I am for the “highlights” of the race and of life. They come together to make something quite beautiful.
Try seeing your life in the same light. Switch your perspective to see that through Christ, anything can be made beautiful. Even the unfortunate, crappy, and mundane aspects of life.
Thanks for reading, God bless!
