When I decided to go on the World Race, I was so excited and had so many thoughts about what the next year was going to look like for me. I thought about things like this:
I am going to make awesome new friends.
I can’t wait to go on all sorts of adventures.
I want the Lord to grow and challenge me.
I want to have awesome ministries.
I want to see the world and experience new cultures.
I want to be changed for life.
I can’t wait for this incredible experience I am going to have.
Yes, almost all of this has happened, but do you see a trend in these statements? It’s all about me and MY experience. My focus has been on the fact that this is MY World Race.
Spoiler alert: I was wrong.
The World Race is nothing about me. It’s not about how much I can grow and how many new friends I can go on adventures with. The World Race is about learning to die to myself. After seven months on the Race, I have seen what it looks like to die to yourself. I have seen it in my squad leaders, mentors, and hosts and I want it. I want to learn to die to myself.
I know it won’t be easy and it’s not going to just happen today, but I can start to try. My hope is with enough intentional practice, dying to myself and selflessly focusing on others may become habit.
Therefore, I declare that from here on forward, I am going to begin to live a life that is less focused on me and more focused on others. For me, this looks like doing my best to no longer complain that our ministry this month just isn’t “my thing”. Or no longer being upset when I don’t have the extra time in my day that I was planning for. Or wishing that I could just have one person on my team that likes to run, because that’s what I love to do.
It’s not about me.
This won’t be easy, dying to myself and learning to live a life simply about others and the Lord. But, I feel this is what I am called to do. I am ready and anxious for the challenge and the growth that will come along with it.
Since this idea has truly resonated in my heart, I keep thinking about the verse Mark 8:35, “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. “
So today I am saying I am ready to learn what it looks like to lose my life for the gospel in order to save it. You may not be there today, I sure wasn’t just a week ago, but what would it look like for you to die to yourself?
P.S. I had the incredible opportunity to make this statement publicly via baptism in the ocean on Easter morning. I thought you would all enjoy this picture of us all out in the water praying as a squad after 13 of us were baptized. God is so good!! Jesus Christ is risen indeed!
