Hi! My name is Ashley Thomas. I am 22 years old and I recently graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in international relations and global studies. I was born and raised in the great state of Texas. I grew up in a little suburb of Dallas called Flower Mound (yes, there’s actually a mound with flowers in my hometown). My parents are Tim and Sandra Thomas. They act not only as my parents, but also as my role models, friends, comforters, counselors, encouragers, and the ultimate cheerleaders. I also have a younger brother named Brandon. He currently studies biology at Arizona State University and hopes to become a surgeon one day. He is one of my best friends and even though he is a year and 17 days younger than me, I learn so much from him every day. He pushes me, challenges me, stretches me, inspires me, and makes me want to strive every day to be the best me that I can be.
I have always loved to dance. Whether that’s just tapping my foot, bopping my head, swaying from side to side, busting a move on the dance floor, or performing a full-fledge dance routine on a stage with costumes and make up and an audience and everything, something in me cannot help but get up and move whenever music comes on. I have also always had a special place in my heart for travel and adventure and new experiences. From exotic family vacations to getting to work in an elephant sanctuary in Cambodia to sleeping in a tent while on safari in Botswana, I have already had my fair share of crazy travel adventures and I am always ready for the next one. But, none of those will ever compare to the greatest adventure of my life, my experience of a lifetime like no other, living life with my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
I first declared with my mouth and believed in my heart that Jesus is my Lord and Savior when I was in middle school and ever since then He hasn’t stopped rocking my world. In middle school, when I questioned whether I was beautiful or worthy of love; God seemed to repeatedly show me that I am His masterpiece, crafted, formed, molded precisely and meticulously by the hands of the ultimate Creator and that I am incomprehensibly precious and worthy and loved by my Good, Good Father. In high school, when I was caught up in identifying and defining myself as Ashley, the greatest dancer ever or Ashley, the smartest student in her class or any other thing that the world said was who I was; He seemed to show me over and over again that the only label, name tag, badge, identity, definition that I was ever meant to wear is child of God. It’s the only one that no one can ever take away from me and it’s the only one that will always fit me just right. In college, when I kept running to the world for approval and comfort and what I was meant to do to not live a wasted life; He seemed to remind me time and time again that I already have His approval, that He chooses me and delights in me and that not even little ole seemingly insignificant me escapes His notice, and that He is the ultimate comforter, He will never leave me hanging or tell me my problems are too big for Him to handle, even in times of trouble when things seem really dark, and that a life spent making much of His name is the only way to not live a wasted life, that is a life full of joy and purpose like no other, no matter whether the world agrees with that or not.
My walk with the Lord has not and will never be perfect. I am sinful and flawed and broken. I push Him away and turn my back on Him and run in the opposite direction more times than I care to admit. I try to take things into my own hands, I try to forge my own path in life, I try to pretend like I am in control and that I have it all figured out, I basically tell God that I don’t trust that He will provide for me or that He has a plan for my future that is as good as the plan that I have for myself. But God is so so good. He constantly teaches me just how much I need Him, just how little I can do on my own, just how limited and fragile and finite I am compared to how big and powerful and infinite He is. Whenever I try to do things on my own, I always fail, my net always returns empty; but when I say, “God, I need You. You are sovereign over everything and I trust that You will provide exactly what I need, that You have a plan for my future that is bigger and better than anything I could ever ask for or imagine,” He always shows up and my net always returns not just full, but overflowing.
My why the World Race story has God’s fingerprints all over it, I just couldn’t see it at the time. Flashback to almost one year ago exactly, I was studying abroad in Botswana. There was boy in my group who was wearing a t-shirt that one of his friends sold to help raise funds for her world race trip. I asked him about his shirt and thought to myself, “Hmm, that sounds really cool.” Flash forward, I get back from the trip, I start my senior year of college and I’m trying to figure out what I want to do with my life after graduation. The pressure to have it all figured out weighed down heavily on me. I know now, this was a weight that I was never meant to have to carry. I applied to different job opportunities, I got rejected from some and I got accepted to some, but none of them seemed to feel right. I kept feeling like I was meant to do something else, like there was something else out there for me. It seemed like God was telling me that He had something very different in mind for my life. That’s when I remembered my friend’s shirt and the world race, so I thought, “Why not?” and applied. And now here I am, ready to take a leap of faith and jump into this new adventure.
My two goals in life are to get to know and experience God more and to love others well. I cannot wait to live these out as I prepare for and embark on the world race. I am excited for what this next season of my life has in store and I am confident that God will move in and through me in big ways, where I can’t help but look back and say, “There’s no way I did that, that was all God.” If you could be praying that I make this trip not about me and my comforts and my desires, but about Him and making much of His name and that I continue to trust that God will provide the funds I need in order to be able to go on this trip, that would be very much appreciated! special shout out to my mom and dad, thank you again for giving me the world!
So yeah, that’s a little about me!
Much love,
Ashley
