In less than 24 hours I leave for the greatest adventure of my life (so far). Am I excited? Um, yeah! But how do you mentally prepare yourself to leave everything you’ve ever known for nine months? In all honesty, I’m a little scared. Being able to go one this trip is an amazing opportunity, but what if I don’t want to spend the next nine months of my life living in a third world country? What if I don’t want to leave my family, my friends, and everything I know?
As I sit here looking at the things I “need” for the next nine months, I am beginning to realize how much my life is about to change. I have a closet full of clothing at my disposal, yet I “have nothing to wear”. There is a kitchen full of food, but I often find myself saying “we have nothing to eat”. The majority of the showers I will take in the next nine months will probably be short and cold instead of long and hot the way they are at home. All of these things are things that I take for granted everyday and usually don’t even think twice about.
A week ago I was terrified and dreading the day that I would have to say goodbye to the comforts of home. I was worried about what I would pack. How would I survive nine months on only five changes of clothing?! Would I like the food that I would be eating? How would I survive without a hot shower? Would I really be able to survive without the constant connection to the world around me that I am given through that convenient little (or in my case, huge) device we call a smart phone? These are all the things that society tells us we need. They are a “comfort bubble” that we surround ourselves with so that we can live comfortably. I’m not scared anymore. Now I’m so excited beyond words. I’m excited to see what I can do without all the things that society tells us we need to survive. Things that are truly just a distraction from the reality of life.
A song that has stuck with me since training camp is the song “No Longer Slaves”. You see I used to let fear of the unknown control me and the decisions I made. Not anymore! I refuse to be a slave to fear. I refuse to let my fear of failure or of not being good enough keep me from going out and doing what I was called to do. God has promised to take care of his children and because I am his child I have no reason to be fearful.
“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds?” (Luke 12:22-24)
