I have found it hard to sum up one or even a handful of great takeaways from the World Race. The more I think of it, I realize this trip did not lead to a couple good lessons here or there. This journey changed all I knew and pushed me into a better version of myself.
Before I left for the Race, I heard so many times, “This trip will change your life, you will be so different when you come back.”
Those statements terrified me. They almost made me not want to go on the Race at all. I enjoyed my life. I enjoyed who I was and all I had going for me. Why would I change that?
I did not realize at the time just how beautifully messy this transformation would be. God wanted to take me on quite the ride to show me the abundance He has in store for His children. My perspectives have changed, my priorities have changed, the way I desire my life to look is new. I did not realize the complacency I was living in previously. I was content in living my life, doing what i liked, and adding God to the end of it. I realize now that I was not desiring growth in my relationship with the Lord that got in the way of what I had going for myself. The journey of learning and growing in intimacy with the Father is exciting and eye opening to say the least.
But if you would like to hear some takeaways, I will do my best to explain some of these to you.
The Kingdom of God is here, and it is upside down from how the rest of the world functions. I experienced many moments where I was confident with everything inside me that the Holy Spirit was present in the setting and that this was the Kingdom come. Jesus brought the Kingdom of God as He rose to life after His crucifixion and now we get glimpses of what is to fully come. Moments like studying God’s Word in a tiny home in the village of Uganda with women that are so ill, yet so passionate to know Christ. Or dancing in circles hand in hand with a little girl at a school of the deaf in Kenya. Or playing duck duck goose on an open field as the sun sets with middle school girls from my English class in Cambodia. Or praying with the homeless and drug addicts in Colombia. Being able to cry freely in the arms of a dear friend because as it turns out, life is still messy and hard even on the other side of the world. Hugging my parents for the first time in 8 months. The list could go on and on… In these moments, I have felt the Holy Spirit so near and present and have felt as if I got a front row seat to what is to come upon Jesus’ return. It is exciting and my heart longs for more. My heart longs to see His Kingdom come down as it is in Heaven. It is upside down from the normal ways of the world because it creates a desire in us to do things that just sound plain uncomfortable…. “Love the least of these. Do not worry about the future. Surrender your finances to the Lord.“ But, the freedom and joy that comes from these things is worth it all.
God is moving and giving hope to the world. Hope! Oh how I have seen so much hope this year. Where my heart has broken over a situation, my heart has felt hope. God has seen each need of the world and is calling His people to rise up and pursue justice. I have felt my heart break as I sat in a tent that was home to a refugee on the street of Indonesia. I have felt my heart break at the number of unreached people groups in the world. Seeing so many people deeply lost and turning to statues to fill them has broken my heart. My heart breaks for the poverty, the addictions, and the violence. Yet, in each broken situation, I have seen the Lord raise up leaders within each country to fight for the justices of His heart. The light brought to the darkness has left me in awe. The Lord is faithful, kind, and in constant pursuit of bringing justice to this world. My hope has been renewed that Jesus is Healer and is bringing His Kingdom of justice and light down each day.
This life was intended to be much more simple than we have created it to be. As I said, I loved my life before the Race. Yet, in the midst of it all, I was unaware of how distracted I was and how much importance I put on things that do not matter. Many of us, myself included, have put a lot of weight on things that we think hold much purpose in this world- what we do for a living, where we live, who we know, what knowledge we know, what we own. We may think we need certain skills or knowledge to be do our ministry or to reach others. I have learned this year, that nothing holds value outside of loving God, and loving His people. Loving God- knowing the fullness of His character, seeing His deep love and pursuit for our lives and falling deeply in love with Him. Out of overflow of this Love, we take love to those we come in contact with. We are then able to show this love off, desiring others to become utterly consumed by it as well. This life was intended to be much more simple, we were not intended to put worth in anything outside of Love. I was only able to truly see this and believe it once my perspective changed. My worldly perspective that measures myself off of the clothes I wear, the money I make, and friends I have- had to change. I am growing in seeing the world through an eternal perspective, to see things for how God sees them, to have His heart in situations. This is a daily task and something I am still far from where I would like to be one day, but it is a freeing process to begin.
Now, as I sit on the airplane headed from Bali, Indonesia, to New York, I cannot help but try to understand what coming home looks like. As most flights do, we had some turbulence towards the end of the flight. I remember hearing a podcast once of a pilot speaking about turbulence as he flies. He said turbulence is always the best part, because he has to buckle down, set his focus and put into practice what he has been trained for. I see this as a perfect metaphor for stepping back into life at home. It is time to focus in on what the Lord has taught me this year and put this growth into practice. It may be bumpy, new and hold its own obstacles, but some of the most fun rides come from this! So, buckle up and stay tuned!
The Lord used the World Race this year to transform my perspective and my life. I am beyond thankful for the ministries I was able to partner with, the relationships built, the squad I traveled with that quickly has become 23 of my dearest friends, and all of the support that has come from friends and family back home. This year was more than I ever could have imagined. Thank you for taking the time to stick with me throughout this year of highs and lows.
Thankfully, this is not me signing off forever from the World Race- I will be beginning a new journey this August as an alumni team leader for W Squad as they launch.
I will be back in Texas tomorrow, June 26, and would love to hear from anyone and everyone that would like to meet up and hear more about this year.
Ashton Paige
