There are many things I’ve learned on the Race.
I’ve learned to trust in God and how He works.
I’ve learned to trust the people that I am around. I trust them with my feelings, things I’ve gone through, and my heart. In turn, they trust me with the same.
I’ve learned about cultures all around the world.
I’ve learned how much a package of cookies or a lollipop can mean to someone.
I’ve learned how even when you don’t speak the same language, you can brighten someone’s day.
I’ve learned that just smiling at someone can make all the difference.
I’ve learned about how I need time alone every day or else I will go insane.
I’ve learned that I depend on a few certain people, and I thrive on their love and friendship.
I’ve learned that I need a daily time with God in order to be able to deal with the world.
I remember sitting in my hotel room at Launch talking with one of my leaders, blown away when she told me she needed two hours every day to spend with God to read the Bible, pray, and journal. At that point, twenty minutes was hard for me. I didn’t know what to do in a quiet time. I would read a chapter of a random book or something, and I’d pray for everything I could think of, which was about 5 minutes. Over the Race, I’ve grown a lot in this aspect. As of right now, I wake up at 6 every morning so that I can spend two hours with God before breakfast. I read many chapter of my Bible, I am doing three different book studies, journaling, praying for a long time, and journaling as much as I have time for. I’m not saying this to brag about myself, but of the Lord. One of the biggest things I prayed for at the beginning of the race was for God to give me a desire to love Him and want to spend time with Him every day. He gave me that.
Last month we had PVT, Parent Vision Trip, and both my mom and dad came down to Ecuador to visit. It was a really tough week for me. Not so much because of my parents, but of the other responsibilities I had in addition to them being there. I was co-leading the planning committee for the entirety of the week they were here, so we had to plan session every night, make sure we had all the equipment we needed, and we had to deal with last minute changes about every five minutes. It was incredibly stressful, and things happening every night after session and then in the mornings before breakfast meant that I didn’t sleep much, and didn’t have time for much else, and I didn’t make time for my daily quiet time.
And after this is where God showed me something really sweet – how much I need time with Him every day.
I was irritable, annoyed at things I shouldn’t have been annoyed at, and I blocked my heart off and didn’t share with my parents what I really wanted to. I didn’t share with them my heart for the Lord or my squad or the struggles I’ve walked through. I didn’t share with them because of fear.
I didn’t share with them because of pride.
I didn’t share with them because I was allowing other things to fill the space that I had reserved for Jesus and had neglected.
All of this is to say – I’ve grown so much, and I’ve gotten to a place that seemed impossible. I want to encourage you all to do it too. If you don’t spend time with the Lord every day, do it. If you spend time with Him every day, go 5 minutes longer. Do another study. Read another book. Spend time outside thanking God for His creation. Listen to music. Journal about His goodness. Pray for everything and anything you can think of. Do whatever it looks like for you to be able to grow in your relationship with Him. Invite Him into everything you do and talk to Him while you are driving or working or walking somewhere or just sitting. Invite Him into your life because there is no downside to it. He fills you in a way that nothing and no one else can. This was a really hard lesson for me to learn, but I am so thankful that I have learned how important it is to sit with Jesus every day, and I hope you can experience Him in a new way.
