Hello!
I realize it’s been quite sometime since I last wrote so I thought I would update everyone about what’s going on in my life and the things I continue to learn. The past few months have been nonstop with school, work, preparation, and spending as much time with friends and family as possible. It’s weird to think that in a few short months everything I know and all the constants in my life will change.
I was able to get lunch with a friend and mentor last week (love you Tim) and he asked me “What expectations do you have for The Race?” This made me stop and really think for a minute. Up until that moment I hadn’t put a lot of thought into what my expectations were if I had any at all. I responded with “No, and I actively want to keep it that way.” My fear, that comes with expectations, is that if they’re not met in the exact way I would want them to be met then I would see nine months of my life as a waste of time or become resentful towards God. Going into this journey of my life I know I’ll experience things, both good and bad, that will change me and shape me to become a different person. Having expectations about something so big will only narrow my outlook on that. I do expect God to show up but I don’t want to have expectations on how, when, and where’ll he’ll show up.
Last week I also went to pick up a book called “Love Does” by Bob Goff because a friend that I met last week from Ohio who I’m on the same route with for The Race, (@OliviaRoberts) said it basically changed her life and it’s her favorite book. Since then I’ve become a fan as well and think everyone should read it. Goff has a way of making the simple seem extraordinary and still manages to be funny and keep it lighthearted. Anyway I’m not writing a book review and I’m not getting paid to say any of this but in it Goff writes, “Something happens when you get engaged, doesn’t it? It changes everything.” That simple statement only reinforced my thoughts about expectations. I realized when I do have expectations about really anything in my life, I become so preoccupied with those expectations that I stop becoming engaged. My mind won’t stop thinking about what I expected to happen so much so that I can’t connect with whatever I may be doing or who I may be talking with.
School ends in two weeks which only means summer will fly by and before I know it I’ll be leaving the country to love and serve. I ask for your continued support through prayer that I actively remember to not put God into a box of expectations as that only hurts my growth. I also ask for your financial support (and thank those who have already supported me financially) as I still need $14,800 to be fully funded. If everyone who read my last blog post gave only $10 I would be fully funded!
Until next time,
Zach
