Happy Saturday!
I don’t know if you have ever felt so beyond discouraged that you really just wanted to dissolve into a puddle of tears and sleep for a week? You definitely did not want to go to school, church or work in that moment, I am guessing – and most of the time we also do not want to admit that we ever feel these emotions.
I just remember feeling that way a few weeks ago and someone just walked up to me and gave me a hug. A good hug you know? Not that side hug, awkward pat on the back but a real, lingering hug. And that hug, it changed my whole day! It filled me with hope and confidence and stabilized me.
It was not too long ago, that I despised hugs. I was a missionary at the time, and lived with lots of other Christians my age… About 50 of them and some of those would just not understand that I did not want to be hugged. No matter how much I huffed and puffed, there they were, holding me in a tight embrace until I would surrender to it (begrudgingly might I add, but capitulation was the only way of escape.) It wasn’t long however, that these hugs really softened my hard and distrusting heart and I was drawn to those people that were not scared off by my fierceness and I actually found I could not wait to get my daily hugs.
One good hug can make the sun shine in a heart for about a day! I totally am convinced that is true. Sometimes we sadly go more than a day without a good hug and for me personally, that really wears me down!
This is why I feel it is so important to do Mission Work.
Because with the life-giving, freeing Gospel of Christ, paired with compassionate fellowship is a very powerful combination. I believe that God has appointed each World Racer that is journeying with me on this route and that there are specific people God has appointed for me to meet. I have already been praying for the people I will have a chance to minister to. That God would enable me to recognize those moments and to be equipped to say and do the right things each time.
I am fully expecting to be giving a lot of hugs and to be listening to many people’s hardships, to help them carry their burden, to pray with them and to serve them like Jesus served the people around Him.
Thank you for praying for me on this journey! I can feel the thoughts and prayers of everyone, they wrap around me and bring me peace when I feel scattered and help me to remain focused on the now, focused on doing as much as I can this day and to leave the worries of tomorrow, for tomorrow.
In the words of Corrie Ten Boom: “Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.”
It has been a very interesting journey with the World Race preparations so far. I had Jessica help me with a video and nice pictures and several people that approached me to see if they could help with fundraising in any ways. I am so grateful that God has placed so many people in my life that are excited for me on this journey and who encourage me along the way.
I hope you have a blessed Saturday and an even better Sunday to celebrate Jesus! 🙂
