Yesterday morning we officially started our World Race journey! 1 am wake up calls, 15 hour layover, and now a 12 hour flight. I’m so exhausted, yet so excited for this adventure!
I’m going to be honest with y’all, I’ve honestly had very few fears about this trip. Legitimately the only thing that’s scared me is the thought of all my deodorant melting and I smell like death…Really. I never was afraid of theft, flying, sickness, etc.
Today changed all of that. I’ve never had the opportunity to fly internationally before, I’ve barely even flown domestically. I was so excited for the adventure of it all, and so excited for the new experiences I would encounter. Boarding the flight, quite a few of the girls were having panic attacks at the realization of how home sick they are going to be, all the while I was happy, excited, and completely fine!
That changed by hour 2 of our 12 hour flight. The turbulence was the worst I’ve ever experienced, and the trolley cart was literally teetering back and forth on its wheels, the liquid sloshing back and forth. I felt an uneasy feeling in my gut, and immediately knew that a panic attack was on the horizon. I simply looked at the other girls in my row, and told them to please not judge me if I cried. As soon as they promised they would never, I released.
Now, these girls aren’t on my little team; we haven’t gotten to know each other as well as I wish we could have, and they handled my moment with nothing but grace and love. These girls had no idea how to calm me down, how to comfort me, what I normally need for help, etc…These are all things I’ve discussed with my small group of girls in my team, but not the whole squad.
EJ and Skylar were incredible in the way they showed their love towards me. They rubbed my back and gave me comforting words while I fought back my tears, and I eventually started feeling better. One thing EJ said, which I think is so peaceful, beautiful, and both simple and profound is, “the scary thing is, we aren’t in control. The good thing is, we aren’t in control.”
What a moment for me to step back and remember that the God of the universe is the ultimate master and controller of the wind, the air, and the monstrous clouds we must’ve been flying through. He is in control of all of it, and all I can do is take a seat and rest in His promises.
That’s something I feel I will be working on A LOT during this process. I will have to remember to lose control, to completely hand over the reigns to God, and to trust that He will take me under His wing of protection. While that doesn’t guarantee something bad or scary can’t happen, it does guarantee that I am protected by a love so great that even the mountains move if He commands. How crazy and incredible and wonderful is that?
Cause I think it’s pretty rad.
I’m posting this on our 2 hour layover in Qatar. From here our group travels 8 hours by plane to Johannesburg, and my individual team hops on a quick 14 hour bus ride to our ministry site after that.
I’m so happy to say that I have officially under $600 to go until I’m fully funded for this trip! If I can get 20 people to donate $20, we’ll be almost there! Will you partner with me in bringing Jesus and His love to the nations?
