A couple weeks ago, the preacher at my church talked about taking risk. He proceeded to talk about a shirt he saw while skiing as a teenager referring to the biggest slope that said “No Guts, No Glory.” I think that phrase applies to being a Christian also. You can’t expect to see God do miraculous things, if you don’t take risk. That is the very reason why I want to do The World Race- Gap Year.
I’m tired of just going through the motions of being a Christian. Praying just when I go to sleep at night, or just when I need something is not cutting it. Getting my Jesus high while only at church on Sundays is not cutting it. Pretending to be the perfect Christian, when I’m as broken and sinful as ever, is not cutting it. I want more of God. I want to see Him preform miracles and work in ways I have never seen before, and I can’t do that by living the life I am living now. My favorite verse, which I even have tattooed on me, is Luke 9: 23-25. It says “Then he said to them all “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?” That’s exactly what I want to do. I want to lose my life and just give it completely to God.
Someone asked me why I wanted to go on The World Race. I told them it was because I felt it was something God was calling me to do. They then replied “sometimes God calling you to do something isn’t enough.” But here’s the thing. For me, I want it to be enough. Trust takes risk. I trust God enough to handle everything, especially everything that comes along with The World Race. I trust him to provide the $13,000 that I need to go and I trust that this is His plan for me, and that it will be for good, not bad!
The amount of people that disagree with the decision I have made to leave for 9 months to go to places like South Africa, Malaysia, and Guatemala is discouraging. I keep hearing the same things over and over again. “Don’t you want to finish college first? Nine months is such a long time. You are going to get Ebola. There are too many risks involved. Why would you do this?” I can assure everyone that the decision I made to do The World Race, was not taken lightly. Am I scared, nervous, and apprehensive? Absolutely, but this experience isn’t really about me. It’s about God, therefore, I am going to let Him take the lead!
