Greeting all,
Time is flying! It feels like just yesterday that I posted my most recent blog about the changes that have been taking place in my life and the excitement that is building for the adventure that lies ahead of me. January is quickly approaching. Though I am not yet counting down the days, my attention is turning more and more to The World Race! I have a mountain of work to do in the coming months, fundraising and gathering gear. Though it often feels like I’m fighting an uphill battle, I know that with God will provide. I sometimes struggle with self confidence and question whether I have what it takes to accomplish the tasks that lie ahead. In times like these, I often read some words of encouragement sent to me by a close friend and personal mentor, “Caleb Estrada you have my eternal confidence. Yes, I do believe in you because I do believe the Spirit of the Lord is within you. Living and learning is what it is about. Each step, each stumble, is an opportunity to learn and grow.” It’s a powerful thing to think about, knowing that the Spirit of the Lord is living and working within each of us. It’s something that gets me more pumped up than a heavy weight listening to Eye of The Tiger before a championship fight. As I continue to prepare for the journey that lies ahead of me, I pray that God will continue to work within me and use me as a conduit of his love and compassion.
Since the Fourth of July I’ve been thinking a lot about my foundation. The weekend was filled with fun in the sun, river tubing with friends, picnics, and sunburns. It’s always a pleasure to spend time with so many loved ones. I had the particular treat of seeing much of my extended family, including some visiting from Pennsylvania. My family has always been very dear to me. I have been given and incredible amount of love and support throughout my life, but it had never really dawned on me just how great of an impact they have all had on my spiritual foundation until that night. Let me preface this by saying I have an amazing family! I was raised in a Christian home, my Grandfather was a minister, we went to church on Sundays, read bible stories at the dinner table, and I was taught to say my prayers before bed. We say grace at every family gathering and collectively love the Lord! As we prepared to share a meal that evening one of my cousin’s sons, Aiden (a boy of about twelve), enthusiastically offered to give the blessing. This was a little out of the ordinary. In our family it is custom for the head of household for whomever’s home we are gathering at to say the prayer. As Aiden took center stage my first thought was, “Good luck kid.” Public speaking can be daunting, so I was pretty impressed how willing he was to put himself on the spot. Aiden’s prayer went off without a hitch. And as always the food was fantastic. We spent the rest of the evening catching up with each other, laughing, and telling stories.
Later that evening, as I lay in bed reflecting on my day and mentally preparing myself to return to work in the morning, I thought of Aiden. I thought of how incredible it is that a boy his age knows and loves the lord so deeply. I thought about his enthusiasm and how important God must be to him. A seed was planted in Aiden at an early age – just as it had been planted in me. Even though I was raised in such a nurturing environment and was given such a strong foundation, my faith has taken a lot of work. I have allowed myself to question and allowed myself to stray. With time and effort, my relationship with God has continued to grow, evolve, and strengthen each day. As I think forward and prepare for The World Race in front of me, I think about all of the people I will encounter along the way, I think about all of them who haven’t known the Lord from such an early age and all of them who haven’t been blessed with the same foundation. I’m praying that God will give me the words and may help me provide an example. Maybe he will use me to help plant the same seed in them that was planted in me.
