Today is like Christmas for World Racers…
First and foremost, Jesus will be coming into the lives of many of us with an intensity that we may have never experienced. Jesus is here. He is here to blow up the box we put him in. He is here to show us he will provide for our every need even if we only have a pack on our back. He is here to walk through the hurt. He is here to prepare us for the 11 months to come. He is ready and I am ready.
There will be presents, not wrapped but presents all the same. This week is going to be one of challenge but one of blessing as well. The fruits of the spirit will be grown and shaped within us. We will be pushed to practice the “fruit[s] of the Spirit [are] love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.” – Galatians 5: 22-23 You bet we will face trials that will push us to the limit of our abundance of fruit but that is when God will step in and show us there is so much more within us. For he is within us and “[we] can do all things through Christ who strengthens [us].” – Philippians 4:13
It will be a time of love and family gathering. This may be our first official gathering with all in attendance but it will not be the last. We have gotten to know each other over the weeks and months leading up to this moment and now we will have a week to grow even deeper in union as A-squad. Some of us may walk into training camp not knowing another person but we will all leave as one family, united for Christ. We will be the support system for each other in the 11 months on the race and this is where it starts. This is where 52 strangers become 52 family members.
Today is the beginning of a new chapter in my life. Today marks the start of training camp and the first significantly concrete step in my World Race journey. Today I open myself up to my squad and a God that loves each and every one of us beyond anything we can comprehend. Today I go because I was called. Today starts training camp and that’s like Christmas for World Racers.
