For those of you who don’t know- I just spent almost two weeks in Gainesville, Georgia at a training camp for The World Race!!
I thought training camp would be difficult for three reasons:
- The fitness hike (carrying all our gear in an extremely hilly & hot setting for 2.2 miles in 38 minutes).
- The bug bites.
- The continuous loud groups of extremely extroverted people.
I was so wrong.
Was the fitness hike challenging? Yes. But it is done in waves and my ENTIRE SQUAD finished by the time the first wave needed to be done. I finished with six minutes to spare- and even jogged in to the finish line with one of my teammates.
Were the bug bites brutal? Well… only on the night I didn’t wear bug spray…
Are there tons of incredibly loud extroverted people everywhere all the time? Yes! BUT there are so many opportunities for us introverts to go quietly recharge in the ways we need to (I listened to music, went for runs, watched shooting stars and lightning bugs…)
Here are the ways it was actually difficult:
- God uses this time to dig up spiritual and mental and emotional barriers to help you overcome them. There were SO many things from my past and my present that He called to attention, and had me face and heal from head on, then and there. I wasn’t even aware of these issues before training camp, and yet there were many of them that He had waiting for me.
- Everyone is SO loving. I am naturally an independent person (usually to my own detriment), and my squad and team were patient with me beyond anything I had ever experienced. They wanted to understand. They wanted to love me in the ways I was able to accept love (which is sometimes a silent fist bump instead of an emotional hug with lots of words). The kindness of my squad, my team, and my leaders exposed a level of vulnerability in me that I didn’t even know I was capable of. It wrecked me in the most excruciating and best ways.
- The crying. I have not cried that hard in a long, long time. God called my heart into a place of full healing from an incident in my past… and it was via prayer for the person who hurt me. Not only did two people from my squad walk through that prayer with me, they then comforted me as I curled up in a ball on the floor and cried… and cried… and cried. And that was only one of what ended up being ten crying sessions during training camp. I have never felt so vulnerable, so loved, or so free.
- The honesty. It is hard to admit who you really are, and have been. It is hard to admit your faults. It is hard to admit your thoughts or judgments or anger or sadness. And. I learned that the truth will set you free. There is so much freedom in being fully known! There is so much freedom in letting those people who you entrust to guide you into your thoughts and emotions. There is so much freedom in letting your community and letting Christ into your weakest aspects. They become points of strength as relationships are strengthened.
- The unveiling of my identity. Training camp harshly revealed that parts of the roots of my identity are still in places they should not be: the titles I am given, the authority I have over others, the consequences of what I struggle with. God is walking me into a season where others will serve me, where I can finally take a breath and let myself be taken care of. He is giving me a full opportunity to realize who He says I am… and it comes through total surrender to Him and to the people He has appointed to lead me for a season.
Did you see it? Did you see all the triumphs amid the trials? There are so many victories in the difficulties. There is so much hope, and training camp established such an incredible foundation for this team/squad. I cannot describe to you the excitement I have embarking on this next year.
I have a squad that is better than I ever could have imagined. They are everything I could have ever asked for. I have been given an opportunity to step into the fullness of who I was made to be. God has handpicked a team and a squad for me- to meet me right where I’m at, to join me in this crazy adventure that is life, and to pursue Him with…And I already love each and every one of them. #L-Squad #August2018 #Route4 #11n11 #WorldRace #OrangeSquad
