Do you all remember in my first video when I told you all about my key?
Well it’s time for a little update…
When I started the World Race I was given a key with a word on it that had prophetic meaning about what God was going to do in me on the race. It’s called a “Key for the Journey”. Every racer is given the opportunity to order one before leaving for their 11 month journey with God. When people open their keys there are usually a multitude of reactions. My reaction was pure excitement. I had no idea at the time what “soar” meant but I knew that anything to do with flying was going to be a good time.
Month 1
Like I said I started with no clue what my key meant to me. Then month 1 I got a prophecy from one of my squad-mates Karlie Cheney. I’m paraphrasing but she said the she saw me like a little girl standing in a forest with all of these tall trees surrounding me. Then I opened my mouth and the entire forest went up in flames. Then she saw me as an eagle soaring over the forest as it burned. When I tell you that prophecy SHOOK ME! I still think about it regularly.
Month 2
The next memorable step in my journey to soaring happened in month two. During month two we had something called an Awakening. An awakening happens when multiple squads are in the same area and the schedules, logistics, and budgets line up in such a way that allow the squads to come together for a few days. During the awakening we had sessions where people spoke and we had worship together and learned from each other. At our awakening there were three squads us in month 2, K squad in month 4, and F Squad in month 11. So there was a variety of expertise there. One of the sessions was an all women’s session. We spent time individually asking God what are some of the lies we have believed about ourselves. Then we broke into small groups and spoke out those lies. Then one or two of the women in the group spoke truth into our hearts to drown out those lies. The one thing I remember about that exercise was it was the first time that I spoke out the lie that I believed my voice didn’t matter.
After I spoke out the lie it got so much smaller. Suddenly I became bombarded with the truth. Throughout the rest of that month it was confirmed over and over again that that lie was the exact opposite of the truth. Not only does my voice matter but I actually have the spiritual gift of wisdom. God has given me things that the world needs to hear.
Month 3
As I mentioned in my last blog El Salvador was the black pit of despair. I have practically no videos, or journal entries, or anything else from that month. I was in a pit of darkness and from that I learned what the outcome can be when I choose to stop using my voice to speak life.
Month 4
After that we flew all the way from Central America to Southeast Asia. Early in the month I was having a conversation with a close guy friend back at home and he made a very powerful statement to me. I don’t even remember the context but he is quite blunt and he said “what you just said is based on insecurity from past hurt and you need to work on that” OUCH!!! Real friends tell you the truth even if you don’t want to hear it. I knew his words were in love so I took them to heart. I started a devotional called” In_Security” While working through that devotional during the month I learned things like
- Too often this fear of that others think comes directly from a problem of judgment in ourselves. We do or don’t do certain things because we fear being judged by others only because we judge others too harshly.
- If we see ourselves through the lens of our insecurities we run the risk of thinking everyone else must see us the same way causing an unrealistic fear of what others think.
Working through that devotional spoke so much truth into me and allowed me to understand that believing lies about anything will skew the way I see everything. There was so much truth around me that I chose not to believe because my vision was clouded by lies.
Month 5
The next month in Cambodia I was done with my training on the ground and it was time for me to start flying. In Cambodia our squad had team changes and I stepped into the role of Team Leader. At the start of the race I had ZERO desire to team lead. I didn’t at all understand why anyone else would want to do it either. But, as I went deeper in God, He gave me the desire to team lead because He gave me a desire to grow. During this month I had to depend on Him to not only lead my actions but to give me the words to say and I had to step out in confidence and speak those words. I also led a session for the entire squad on spirit led prayer.
Month 6
Then there was Albania where our ministry was with Christ for the Nations Bible College. We were given the responsibility to lead prayer, devotionals, small groups, children’s ministries, and even Sunday services. God imparted in me wisdom and truth time and time again and I shared it. I was super intimidated to share a devotional in front of all of the staff, students, and even a guest speaker at the bible college. My initial thought was surely these people know WAY more about the bible than I do…what could I possible share with them. But every time God was faithful to give me something impactful to impart into these people.
It was while I was in Albania that I realized that my key was all about me finding my voice and learning to use it. And even more than that I realized I wasn’t trying to learn how to soar I was doing it! Learning to use my voice meant facing some harsh realities about lies I have believed about myself and doubts I have had about my abilities. It wasn’t an easy journey but it was an incredible one.
Shortly after that realization, God showed me someone who also has an abundance of wisdom and insight and is on a journey similar to mine in so many ways. The next time I saw her I shared with her what God had taught me and let her know that the key was no longer mine but that it was hers.
It wasn’t until I started writing this blog that I even realized how God was faithful in leading me in the understanding of my key every single month. My journey with my key was a personal one. Because of that I won’t share who I gave my key to but I know it will have just as much impact on her life as it did on mine.
This has been such a journey and it’s not over yet!
