When I first heard about the World Race, way back in 2015, I was hit with immediate desire to go. It was all I talked about for weeks. I watched all the videos and took the quiz that told me I was a perfect candidate – except I was too young, and that broke my heart. It was a highly inconvenient time for me to take a Gap Year (although that program is incredible if you’re a recent high school grad looking for the next step). So I put it on my ‘someday’ list, and hoped a convenient time to leave the country for a year would present itself.
Obviously, here I am, almost four years later, the Lord having blessed me with perfect timing to go on the Race.
But His call isn’t always convenient – just look at the first people He asked to follow Him. They were in the middle of good jobs, some in the middle of work days, they had families and futures and finances to figure out. But they didn’t. In Mark’s gospel, it says they got up immediately and followed Him. Without any hesitation, they just went.
I’m not saying that I think I disobeyed God by going on the Race now. If I hadn’t stuck around Millikin, I wouldn’t have met my future husband or discovered my dream job or gone through a number of refining fires that prepared me to be on the Race. Now was the time for me to go, to be with these people in these places.
But what does that have to do with the one thing I learned in Swaziland?
In Swaziland, I met people from all over the world who answered God’s call on their lives at times that maybe seemed inconvenient. One family moved here with a toddler and another on the way. Another family had older children who were in school, good jobs, and a fine life. I met a family who had already traveled lots, even with small children, and had finally settled down when God asked them to come to Swaziland. I also met a couple who moved after their children were mostly grown, and ‘retired’ to come do ministry in Africa.
These people gave me so much hope, and ultimately shifted my missionary paradigm. I thought that I needed to go on the Race to get my wanderlust out, to experience the world, because everyone knows once you settle down, you’re stuck.
Praise God that’s not His idea for us.
He calls us to be ready for whatever, whenever, and that looks different for every person and family. But when He calls, you better follow in faith – immediately. And when you obey, when you follow in faith, there is blessing and provision and life in that. I’m excited to live the rest of my life knowing that God might call me to settle down in one spot for a while, and that spot might be across the world like the missionaries I’ve met here. Or He might ask me to move around, although it could be in the middle of a lucrative job like Matthew or a pregnancy like Mary.
Either way, I have hope that if I continue to delight in Him, He will give me the desires of my heart, whether it’s to stay or to go, ministering to His people no matter where I am geographically.
I also want to encourage you, whether you’re a recent high school grad or finally empty nesting, if God’s calling you to do something crazy or unexpected, He has the most beautiful plans in store for you, and blessing beyond measure if you’ll faithfully follow. Be like Nike – Just Do It. 🙂
Blogs on Asia and some other fun things to come – keep an eye on Facebook or your inbox to stay updated on all the happenings this side of the world!
Blessings,
– ML
