This post first appeared on my new blog Journeys of a Storyteller.
Before I left for the World Race, my sister took my journal and wrote a note in the back. I did not stumble upon it until I was in month five of the race in Malaysia.
In her note, she said that many people would call the World Race the journey of a lifetime, but that this would not be the case for me.
She said she believes the World Race was the beginning of a lifetime of journeys.
The World Race was amazing, but I never want to look back on that year as the “good old days”. I want to continue to journey around the world and within my own heart. I want to dream greater and greater dreams and go much further beyond what God has done in my heart this year.
Coming home from the World Race was challenging, and not in the way I expected it to be. I never had a melt down in the cereal aisle at Wal-Mart. I never cried over Starbucks or hot showers or Chick-fil-a.
I did have a melt down about the amount of clothes I owned. I donated two garbage bags full of clothes and I am still down sizing now, but that’s another story for another day.
My biggest challenge has been figuring out where I fit. Sometimes I feel paranoid, like if I don’t suddenly fall into an appropriate category, I will end up drifting for the rest of my life.
Sometimes traveling the world feels a lot like drifting. You are carrying all your possessions in a giant blue backpack, on a plane or a train or a bus, and you have no idea where you are going or when you will arrive.
Sometimes you have a general idea. The bus will drive me from Thailand to Cambodia. But I never knew the route or the stops. Or how long it would take me to get there.
But I was a part of the journey. A full participant in watching the sun rise through the train window. Having meaningful conversations with dear friends. Making memories over Chinese instant noodles that I will remember for the rest of my life.
It truly was all about the journey.
God has been reminding me that I don’t always need to know the next step. I only need to trust that God has it under control and His plan for me is good.
I am not doing anything I thought I would be doing after the World Race, but I am learning to be content with the journey.
With that being said, I have been given the incredible opportunity to go back on the field this coming July! I will be leading an Ambassador trip with Adventures in Missions. Ambassador is a program for high school aged young people and I will be able to pour into them and serve along side them for four weeks in Guatemala! I am so excited! I was 16 when I went on my first mission trip and it radically impacted my life. I can not wait to see these young people experience the same thing!
Stay tuned to my new blog to follow my every day musings and updates as I travel over the summer. You can even subscribe if you like! If you would like to support me financially as I lead this team you can do so by clicking the support me button at the top of this page.
What has God been teaching you lately? I would love to hear about it!
