Oops! My bad everyone. Yes, I am posting this a day late. You see I just got back from my last adventure day of the race and I forgot to bring my laptop with me. So I wasn’t able to post. It was a great adventure and I cant wait to tell you all about it… but till then enjoy this blog the one I was supposed to post yesterday.
I think that a lot of the race can be seen as one of two things. One, it can seem like the adventure of a lifetime (and it is), and sometimes being in it day in and day out can make it seem just like a journey of brokenness (and it is). Holding them in tandem is a hard thing to do. I am currently finding myself suck in the latter of two and when I find myself here some of the best things to do is just remember the great times that have been. This is one of those stories.
This story in particular start the night of the third and continues till the sun rose the morning of the fourth. We were hours away from leaving Pacasmayo. This little beach town had been a great little home and we wanted to leave well. So, John Mark invited me into planning a bond fire on the beach and on the third our entire squad had a big bond fire on the beach. We had marshmallow, music and the ocean. It was perfect.
Before the night was up we all took off into the ocean and swam in the night cooled water. In the giant waves we locked arms and faced the shore. Our goal was to stay standing amidst the waves that came at us from behind. When we had had enough we made our way back to the fire to dry off next to the burning coals.
The night was far from over though. When we got home most of the squad made their way towards their beds, while Carly, Chessie, John Mark, Justus, Morgan, Abby, Emma and myself made our way to the kitchen. It being the last night we wanted to make the most of it. Earlier that day we had made donut bough and bought supplies for milkshakes. We stayed in the kitchen till 12 cooking our dough and singing along to whatever song came on. Then at 12 I decided it was time to fulfill the bet I had made with Chessie earlier that week.
She asked me what it would take for me to shave my face (which I had not touch since the June before I left for the race). I said it would have to be a pretty fare trade. Although the hair on my face did not look all that great (yes, I knew it was rough) I was in no mood to take care of it. So as an example of possible trades she offered to cut her hair to a bob, and I said I would do it to see that.
At the stroke of midnight I began the taming of my face. Doing it in stages; first, a go-tee. Second, just the mustache, and finally, clean. I got to say I did not recognize myself. I hadn’t had a clean face since my graduation and I have never had hair this long. This dynamic duo of newness left me with a stranger in the mirror (or in this car my laptop camera because we don’t have mirrors). I was assured by the women that stayed up that it was a better look. I was skeptical at first thinking that I now looked 10 years younger, but it grew on me and I have become quite satisfied with it now.
Now it was Chessie’s turn. Chess took a seat and someone when to grab scissors. When they came back Emma took the scissors and began taking off several inches of Chessie’s hair. We decided to leave just a bit of room for corrections to be made because lets face it most midnight haircuts don’t go very well.
The night ended with all but 3 of us going to bed 20 minutes into a movie.
My last night in Pacasmayo was one of most treasured memories from this race and oh how good it is just to look back on it. Right now as I’m writing this I am amidst the hardest thing that God has called me to on this race. I know I just wrote a blog titled The Hardest Month Of My Race and now I think I am actually in the hardest month. Although its hard it is still really good and sometimes I lose sight of that. That is why it is so important for me to remember the things God has done in the past. Recalling them brings joy to my day and measures me that no hard season lasts forever and that our God is a God who gives us good things.
Galatians 6:9
