It’s crazy to think that in just 3 weeks The World Race will be over. This year has been nothing like I thought it would be but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I have learned a lot this year and i thought it was time i shared what i learned.
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How to better have a relationship with God
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Growing up I’ve had a hard time having a good relationship with God. A huge reason why I wanted to come on the Race was to learn to strengthen this relationship and how best to do that. My relationship with God is rock solid and nothing will make my relationship with Him rocky again. I learned how to talk to him, I learned how to better hear his voice, and most importantly I learned how I best hear his voice which is through music.
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How to be patient
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I have never been super patient. I hate waiting for results and people. The longer I wait for something the more anxious I get. This year I had quite a reality check. I think the time that tested my patience the most was when we were in Philadelphia. 2 months we waited to see if we could finally move to another host or even if we could continue on in the race. I had to learn to lean on God and my team during that time. I thought about going home at some point during those 2 months but I listened to God who just told me to be patient and to trust him.
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How to trust in Gods plan
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This goes hand in hand with the patience. During those months in philadelphia I really was questioning why I even went on the race if I was going to be stuck in quarentine most of the year with barely any ministry opportunities. During those two months and even the months after that I had to trust that this was Gods plan all along. That I shouldn’t be stressing over this. God showed me this multiple times through the year.
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What it means to be a missionary
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There were many times after high school where I considered going on a mission trip. I never really thought about what it meant to be a missionary though. This year I learned just how hard it is to be a missionary. How nothing is ever set. How you never now when you’ll have a bed or when you’ll be sleeping on the ground. Most importantly what its like to serve the Lord 24/7. I think adventures in missions puts it best by saying life is ministry ministry is life. Just living a life that is interrupt able to what the Lord wants you to do. Whether it’s going and talking to the person that’s in the same aisle as you in the store, or having bags of food and other necessities in your car to hand out to people on the streets. I learned that things like volunteering at local food pantries is ministry. There are so many ways to continue ministry at home. Ministry doesn’t always mean flying to another country for two weeks and then doing nothing when you return home.
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How to accept change
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This year has been full of nothing but change. From being in Philadelphia for two months as opposed to 2 weeks. Or not getting to do ministry in my home town. Or having to finish out my last 3 months in Alabama instead of traveling around with a team. Most of my life I have had a hard time accepting change. In the past when things have changed so quickly I would become really anxious. I would shut down and become very angry. During this year though i learned to lean on God and trust that whatever happens is his plan.
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How to believe in myself
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I’ve spent most of my life not confident in myself. I was constantly down on myself telling myself that I couldn’t accomplish something before I even began the activity. This really came into play with school. I had a really hard time believing that I would do well in school. I constantly compared myself to my sisters who constantly got multiple A’s, where I barely could get an A in a year. This year my confidence was challenged multiple times. Mainly through being treasurer. I have always been extremely hard on myself when it came to my math abilities. I doubted myself from the second I was told I was treasurer on whether I could do it. Every time I calculated or lodging and food budget I would ask Gisele to double check my calculations. Everytime something didn’t go right I would panic, terrified that I would lose my team thousands of dollars. Time and time again God helped me through it and I gained more and more confidence. Back at launch I was given the prophetic word “Warrior” for a reason. It was a reminder everyday to me of how strong I am.
This year has been nothing but hard. It’s definitely not what I was expecting it to be but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. As it says in Isaiah 41:10-
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
God is always with us even in the darkest of times.
