If you know me then you’re probably well aware that I LOVE t-shirts; and I dare say, even that is a slight understatement. Like, whenever people play the ‘what-if’ game and ask, “if your house was burning and you could save one material possession, what would it be” my answer is always: a favorite t-shirt. I think that accurately describes how deeply passionate I am when it comes to this subject.
At this point you may be wondering: Baylee, why are you talking about t-shirts on your first blog post EVER as a World Racer? Well, let me satisfy your curiosity and explain.
Upon being accepted into the World Race (less than a month ago), I was eager to start fundraising. Almost immediately, I began looking at t-shirt designs and creating hypothetical mocks online.
Not even a full week after receiving my acceptance call, I was already in contact with a t-shirt designer from a non-profit organization. With all of the possibilities laid out in front of me, I began to feel overwhelmed. Who knew there were so may decisions to be made when designing and selling a t-shirt?
Whispers of anxiety and thoughts of doubt began to creep in. The expectation of making a definite decision, even if it’s something small like designing a t-shirt, is not my cup of tea. After much thought and a few sleepless nights, I emailed my designer a lengthy email (in rather great detail) of this perfect t-shirt I had in mind. It was all planned out with pictures included; all the t’s were crossed and all the i’s were dotted. Next step: anxiously wait for a reply.
FINALLY.
It’s two days later & I GOT MY FIRST MOCK.
I am so excited that my heart begins to beat faster than normal.
I open it..
click the attachment..
it’s taking forever to load..
AND..
oh..
I hate it.
Like, I think you understand by now, I genuinely love t-shirts but even I wouldn’t wear this. I had just spent days, completely consumed by this shirt, figuring out every detail, and it ended up not being anything like I wanted it to be.
Now, here’s the kicker.
This incredibly time-consuming (and quite stressful) cycle was repeated four times. FOUR TIMES, I tell you. I created four different shirts and hated all of them once they were sent back to me. Out of pure frustration, I attempted to contact an outside source because I thought for sure it was just the designer not doing their job well. I even had a foot in the door with another screen printing company.. but guess what? I waited 48 hours and the company never even replied to my initial email. Are you kidding me? What is going on? GET BEHIND THEE SATAN!
A couple days later, I was laying in bed, exhausted from a long day, stressed because I still didn’t have a t-shirt to sell, and I said out loud: God, WHY is this such a fiasco?
*violently, and overdramatically, flopping my body to lay on my other side*
“Maybe because you didn’t involve Me.”
Wait.. what? Really? Jesus, is that You? I mean, You do know that I’m talking about my t-shirts here, right? I didn’t think You’d care about my silly t-shirt fiasco? Don’t You have bigger and more important things to do rather than care about how and if I design a t-shirt?
“I want to be involved in every part of your life, whether you deem it silly or not.”
Wow. Fast-forward 12 hours and God had (1) given me a dream that consisted of this simple, but powerful shirt being wore by a community of people AND (2) I already had a reply from my designer with a mock of this newly created masterpiece.
I LOVED it. For the first time throughout this entire process, I finally liked what I saw. It wasn’t anything I originally had in mind but it was everything that I was wanting.
Lesson one: Jesus really does want to be your friend. He wants you to communicate with Him, even about the trivial things in life. How much different my life would be if I walked and talked with Jesus as He was my FRIEND, not just my GOD. I heard a pastor say once that he wished people would call him by his first name without saying pastor first just so he could feel normal. Maybe Jesus feel likes this sometimes, too?
Lesson two: He cares about the details. I mean, He created us so perfectly, with giving thought to every intricate detail. Why wouldn’t He care about every detail of the life He created? What would my life be like if I spoke to Jesus about all the small, and even meaningless things in life, rather than just the “important”, or in the instance I think I need Him for?
Note: I am actually selling two different t-shirts but the one referred to in this blog is the white, Comfort Color that says “world changer” on the front. In my dream, I saw hundreds of people gathered around wearing this same exact shirt.. and guess what? They were “changing the world” with the power, authority, gifts, and talents Jesus had given them. I firmly believe Jesus created us all to be world changers in our own unique way; to bring a little piece of heaven to earth.
So, in closing, I first want to say, I hope your curiosity is now satisfied. Hopefully, I explained why I chose to write my first blog (as a world racer) about something as trivial as a t-shirt, in a way that glories God and gives Him all of the honor and praise. (In this particular situation that seems easy to do since, well, my attempt at designing a t-shirt was an ultimate fail until He became involved.)
Secondly, if you’re reading, I want to say thank you. Whether or not you decided to purchase a t-shirt is beside the point. I want to say thank you for taking the time to read about what God showing me in this season of life and I want to encourage you to continue to do so. If anything at all, I ask that you pray for guidance and discernment (and to remember to involve Jesus in all the details) as I embark on this incredibly exciting journey.
Oh, and as my friend sb would tell me, don’t forget: YOU, my friend, ARE A WORLD CHANGER.
