I won’t be sleeping tonight…
I can’t believe I have made it to this moment.
I committed to go on the World Race on March 3 2017.
That’s seven months of looking forward to this day.
28 weeks of counting down.
196 days of sending texts to my squad mates saying “Can’t wait to meet you!”
4,704 hours of waiting.
282,240 seconds of wishing this day would come.
And now it is here.
I am currently sitting in my 16-year-old cousin’s room in Suwanee Georgia, it is almost 2 AM and I can’t sleep. I have spent the last couple of days hanging out with my extended family here on the East Coast and tomorrow I head to training camp.
Tomorrow I head to Training Camp.
TOMORROW. I head to TRAINING CAMP.
I cannot contain my excitement.
I have been having quiet time with the Lord for the past few hours and books, let me tell you, He is excited too.
I feel like this moment I’m having right now is one right before my life changes. The calm before the storm, the deep breath before going on stage, the pause before answering the phone to hear you got the job, the eye contact with your dad before walking down the aisle, the squeeze of your husband’s hand before heading to the hospital to have your first baby, the stumbling words you say before proposing to the love of your life… it’s the night before Training Camp!
Do you see what I mean?
This is my moment!
I have been talking to God a lot about the things I am putting on hold in order to have this moment. While most of my friends are pursuing careers, marriages, and families… I am dropping all of it to live out of a backpack and tent for an entire year to get down and dirty to serve the “least of these” in other countries and cultures around the world.
God reminded me that this is my moment. My uncle even just said at dinner tonight that “God just really wants you on this trip so He doesn’t have anyone special come into your life that may keep you back.”
Yeah.
I have had to put those kind of things aside. But really, my uncle is right. God has not allowed someone to come into my life because He has me here, in this moment.
And goodness, you guys… I can’t tell you how precious this moment is. I can’t tell you what even let me to apply, I can’t speak on why they thought I would be a good fit, I can’t remember how many doubts I had about accepting the offer, I can’t count how many times I almost dropped out once I did, I can’t recall the amount of struggles the enemy threw at me to keep me from coming, I can’t recite the worries and fears I had about fundraising thousands of dollars…
*{SIGH}*
You see? It is only by the grace and act of God that I am here in this moment, sitting upstairs in the middle of the night in this blue room with restless excitement, praising God for all He has done so far.
And all He has yet to do.
Yes, it has been absolute chaos in preparing mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually for this two week Training Camp in Georgia, but oh what joy fills my heart for what tomorrow (which is now today) will bring!
Can you picture me and God laughing together on my bed at a slumber party, late at night, not sleeping, reminiscing on memories and looking forward in anticipation to our field trip tomorrow? Because that is exactly what is happening…
God: “Tomorrow you are going to meet your future best friends!”
Me: “Tomorrow I am meeting my brothers and sisters and fellow warriors on the battlefield!”
God: “Tomorrow is the first time you will meet the community you will spend an entire year traveling the world with! The very vessels I will use to grow you!”
And just like some women would say on the night before their wedding day…
“Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of my life!”
Tomorrow is it folks! Be praying for team unity, team bonding, team dynamics, etc. Be praying that God teaches us, equips us, encourages us, and speaks to us in this time.
What will Training Camp entail? Pracricing with our gear by sleeping in tents, packing and re packing our packs, hiking with our packs, practicing customs, food and dress code of the cultures we will be going to, team bonding, seminars, worship, and good ole fashion competition.
And hey, I will let you know how it goes.
All my love,
JJ
ALSO, check out my latest video on hilarious stress packing, traveling, and adventures in Georgia!
