Shortly after applying for the World Race, it quickly hit me that I was going to have to open up to complete strangers about the darkest depths of my life. Every moment of anger and regret and bitterness and whatever else I was hiding in the hurts of my past. It seems like I had gotten so good at hiding it all thinking it would work itself out. Boy was I wrong.
It was the hardest interview of my entire life because it challenged my growth. It made me face head-on all of the heart issues I had been so eager to ignore. In order to have growth, we must be stretched out of our comfort zone and with that comes growing pains. With every tough conversation comes a little bit more healing.
After being accepted to the Race, I remember thinking “How can I minister to people? I have too many issues from X, Y, and Z?” “Why would God pick me when I fall short everyday?” But those are lies from the enemy!
That’s the beauty of it all. We don’t have to have it all together! We should always contend for God’s utmost love in everything but it’s okay when we fall short. We have God’s unending grace to cover and redeem it all. The more we press into Him, the more He presses into us regardless of our past. Our identity comes from the Father and not from our mistakes.
“But where sin increased, grace increased all the more” – Romans 5:20
Now that I am at the beginning of my journey, my perspective is already changing. I am living and walking in God’s beautiful grace and working on my character in order to prepare myself for the mission ahead. God has amazing things in store for His Kingdom and I am honored to be able to be a part of it.
