Sometimes we have plans for ourselves. Sometimes God decides his is better. All we have to do is say yes.
Two weeks ago I was struggling to decide what grad school I was going to attend. I went back and forth between schools, not really knowing where I wanted to be. The World Race had always been in the back of my head, but I never saw it as a reality for me. I had my plan and I wanted to stick to it. Low and behold, God had other plans.
I heard about the World Race working as a counselor at a summer camp after my freshman year of college. I remember thinking I would love to go on something like this, but there was no way I actually could. It didn’t fit into my plan. I disregarded any thoughts of the World Race, not letting them linger in my mind too long.
At church one Sunday, a family friend of mine approached me and told me that God was highlighting me to come talk to that morning. She told me that I had dreams that I wanted to make a reality and God saw those dreams in me. She said I was going to move somewhere new and watch this dream unfold. In my mind, I thought she was talking about grad school. It was not until this past week that I knew what God was actually telling me through her.
A few weeks later, my church was talking about the idea of saying “yes” to God before you are even aware of what you are saying yes to. I felt that our pastor was talking directly to me. I prayed. I told God, “I have no idea what I am saying yes to, but I trust you and believe it will be worth it, 100%.
Fast forward to two weeks ago. Sitting in my room crying because I had no idea where I was going to be moving in 2 months , I was scared. I prayed to God every night asking Him to make my decision obvious. I did not have peace, praying for over a month for God to show me which way to go. Still, nothing seemed right. I was confused and hurting, not knowing where my future would take me.
That’s when the World Race made its way back into my thoughts.
It wouldn’t leave. It was all I could think about, but I thought there were no upcoming spots left on the trip in August. I thought that the World Race must not be right, but still it dwelled. I prayed about it again, then went to sleep that night. The next morning, I felt the need to look at the routes one more time. Of course, I saw that new spots were open for August. I was in shock. I decided to fill out the application, thinking there was no harm in that.
I needed to ask my parents if I could go. I knew this would be something that they would be very uncomfortable with, so I was hesitant. But, when the time came to ask, the question shot out of me. In return, I got an unexpected response- yes. I thought this was crazy, but I became very excited about the idea of going on the World Race. I went back and forth that night deciding if I should submit it. After telling my mom that I was going to wait a year and then apply, God intervened. I called my parents back, letting them know I was going to submit the application. I had no idea where this was going, but here I am 2 weeks later writing my first blog post.
The craziest thing about this entire process is the number of times God poured the word “yes” over me. Every person I asked if I should go on the World Race told me yes- even the most difficult yes from a few I will miss the most. Every time I got into the car, the song “Yes Lord” was playing. Not one obstacle has gotten in my way of going on the World Race. So here I am about to go on an adventure of a lifetime all for the purpose of God’s glory.
The act of saying yes to God before you even know what you are saying yes to will flip your life upside down. Your plans get wrecked, but your dreams become a reality. Here I am about to spend 11 months of my life traveling, serving, and telling others about Jesus in a way that allows me to embrace my passion of helping those in need. I am in awe of God and what he is done in my life, and I can only imagine what he can do in yours if you just choose to say “yes”.
–Landyce
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** My launch date is the first week of August. Training camp is June 4-10!**
