The World Race is similar to life back home in that from time to time we experience changes. Sometimes the changes make us giddy and excited and sometimes we are less than thrilled about them. One of the latest changes that came for the entire squad at the beginning of month 5 was team changes.
For this next season of The World Race, I have been placed on a new team. At first I was less than thrilled about it because I had come to love and know my first team, Team Intentional Vagabonds, on such a deep level that I felt as though they were my family. We had all come to know one another's quirks and personalities, and we all jived together really well. We literally loved spending every moment together whether it was doing copious amounts of manual labor, going to get tacos and cold pops after a long day of ministry, or watching movies during our free time.
Because of our close bond as a team, I was sad and depressed for a while about the announcement of team changes for the mere fact that I felt like I was having half of my family ripped away from me. Literally. (Okay, maybe not literally ripped away from me, but my first team was split in half, so there went 3 of my family members.)
I was struggling to be excited about this new opportunity and quite honestly I was mad about it for several days. As I thought about my emotions and feelings, I realized I was feeling this way because I didn't even have any say in the matter. But then came a moment of clarity where I remembered three very important things:
- Changes that are made on The World Race are NEVER made without many hours of thought, prayer and communication between a lot of Godly men and women who help lead and guide us. Phew! And hooray for God's council, wisdom and discernment on such things!
- God gives us (or makes us) change in our lives because we need to grow.
- Aside from the fact that change is inevitable in everyone's lives, I think its important to be reminded that the one thing that NEVER changes is that God has promised to be with us through ALL of the changes.
Although I am only 2 weeks in to this new "change" in my life, I can already see the ways in which God is using it for my benefit. I have come to know 3 new amazing team members whom I did not previously know very well at all (side note: I will be posting a new blog soon introducing them to you!). I am under a new leadership and thusly being challenged in new ways because of it. I am also realizing that I was at a point on the Race where change needed to happen because I was slowly becoming complacent and apathetic towards my spiritual growth.
As much as I love and adore my first team (and will forever be thankful and grateful for them), I am thankful for my new team who is becoming a new family to me, and I am thankful for this new season on the Race because I look forward to seeing how I will grow and learn more about God, others and myself.
So if any of you who are reading this are struggling with change in your own life, I hope and pray that you will be comforted in knowledge that God will never leave you during the change(s). He is at work even in the midst of seemingly hopeless circumstances. He is an expert in shaping us, molding us, and freeing us to be all that He intended. So embrace the change(s) to the best of your ability and give the rest over to God. He's got bigger and better plans for you than you will ever realize!
