This question has plagued me ever since I knew that we had to keep a blog for The World Race. There are so many things that I could tell you about, but forming a story…that’s tough stuff! But here goes….
On Saturday July 28th, 2007, my sister Bethany departed for her own journey….the journey of matrimony. I cannot begin to describe how excited I was for her. We spent the weekend in St. Simons Georgia getting acquainted with Hunter’s family. They are quite possibly the sweetest people I’ve ever met! Anyway, since the wedding was happening on such short preparation (mainly because they wanted to get married before I left for The World Race), I had a lot of responsibilities that I had not anticipated. The main thing was that I was responsible for the music both at the wedding and at the reception. Well, even with the best of planning, things are bound to mess up somewhere. And consequently, no matter how hard I tried, I did not have all of the music that I needed for the reception (music for the mother/son, father/daughter, and first dances). So I spent part of the reception downloading and importing the songs I needed and I had to run to my room to haul over my amplifier to the reception area. Well….it was also raining. So when I finally thought I had everything ready, I tried to get the music to work through the amp, but it had been rained on and was not functioning. Not only that, I missed the toasting part, the cutting of the cakes, and I didn’t get to toast the new couple myself. I was heartbroken. My sister’s one and only wedding and I missed in sharing in the celebration with her because of responsibilities. I had to go outside and get some space. After I settled down and talked with my sister, I learned something very important….
She told me that I honored her. I honored her because I had served and done things that
other people couldn’t do. Even if things didn’t work and if I missed out on some things, she was still thankful and honored by the fact that I worked so hard behind the scenes. I realized at that moment that it didn’t matter if I didn’t get the music to work or the fact that I missed out on some things. What was more important was the fact that my sister was incredibly happy because she was with her husband. She could care less about the other things not going right. This was a great reminder for me….
How do I react when things don’t go to plan? What does God care more about? Is He more concerned that I do things, or what my motivation is behind doing them? I know that the answers may seem obvious, but they serve as an incredible reminder of what God really wants from us. He desires hearts that want to honor him not just for the sake of doing good things, but for the sake of honoring him. This is something that I pray I keep at the forefront of my mind when I’m on The World Race. What is my motivation and am I honoring Him? This is the beginning for me. This is where I start. An examination of the heart.
“
Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth.
” ~ Psalm 26:2-3
So in keeping with the whole “where do I begin” blog, I guess I’ll tell you where we will start our physical journey….
T
H
A
IL
A
N
D!!!!
Then from there its off to Cambodia and to China. Please keep our team in your prayers as we prepare this final month in the US and also please pray for my family as we are undergoing some big changes in our lives. Pray for unity among our team. Pray that God prepares the journey ahead of us. Pray for open hearts. Pray for safety. And pray that God’s will be done in our lives.
Thank you so much and sorry for the LONG gap between posts. I will be better about it!! I promise ; )
