Squad leading is probably to most fun, fulfilling, and free-ing thing I’ve done in my life to date. Bold statement, I know.
When I was in high school volleyball we’d get around 6 team shirts for every season that we’d wear to practice in. There was a quote on the back of one that said something to the effect about yardstick moments. Super vague memory, I know, but stick with me. The World Race (take two) has been so fun for me because I’ve gotten to have a yardstick to compare the growth and freedom that I’ve gotten in the past three years. It’s provided a, “remember day one of your first race? And now look at how you feel.” It’s been fun to laugh SO HARD during a game of keep-the-balloon-off-the-floor with a group of 20+year olds.
It’s been fulfilling to be able to give away all these incredible tools, wisdom, and perspective that I’ve been able to receive–and the crazy thing is my squad actually wants them. It’s fulfilling to walk in step with the Lord and see how your small yeses are transformed into kingdom building blocks.
It’s been free-ing (and yes, the hyphen is necessary for how you pronounce it in your head 😉 because I love love love to step away from distractions and the temptation of “the American Dream” and slow down a little. It’s free-ing to wear the same clothes for two or three or four days because, hey, ya only got a few anyways! It’s free-ing to say to your new pals, “Hey! Wanna go hike a volcano this weekend?!” WHAT.
Until you faceplant.
Today I face planted just a little. There’s an Adventures long-term-missions base here in Antigua and I’ve been meeting with them weekly to check in and to receive some love and care. When Marielle asked me, “How are you doing?” and salty liquid things started rushing out of my eyes, I knew that wearing mascara for the first time this month was a mistake. An hour, a packet of kleenex, and some inner healing later, my eyes were red, my mascara was fully on said kleenex, but my heart was at peace.
The most fun, fulfilling, and free-ing thing about the Lord is though that when you faceplant, you get to receive his rest. He doesn’t judge, he doesn’t condemn, he says, “My daughter, why don’t you go to Antigua where I’ve prepared an empty room that has a lot of pillows, quietness, and let’s take a day to go on smoothie and crepe dates JUST BECAUSE I love you.” Okay, maybe yours will sound a little different, but the message will be the same. Rest is something you can choose to do. Put it off long enough and like Psalm 23 says, he’ll make you lie down in a green pasture one way or another. And by make, I caution you, it make look like rivers streaming from your face in the middle of the American equivalent of McDonalds.
Find some space to rest and you’ll get to receive restoration so you can run yet again.
“Promise me you will not spend so much time treading water and trying to keep your head above the waves that you forget, truly forget, how much you have always loved to swim.”
-Tyler Knott Gregson
