Do you ever just dive into something and quickly realize you didn’t quite understand what exactly it is you were doing?
When I signed up for the World Race I knew I would be taken out of my comfort zone. I’d have to purchase things more suitable for mountains instead of the sandy beaches I’m used to and I’d have to raise a lot of money … but I thought that was the extent of it.
Now, a few weeks after my acceptance into the program, I’m realizing just how MUCH I have to prepare for next year. Here are the items I’ve realized I need to handle:
- make at least 200 contacts for prayer and financial support,
- blog regularly,
- make wise purchases for all KINDS of camping gear (shoes, two backpacks, a tent, a headlamp, sleeping pad, sleeping bag, the list goes on!),
- schedule 10 immunizations,
- figure out how my taxes will get done come 2020,
- figure out the best way to adapt my phone plan.
And that’s just what I’ve found so far.
I’m sure there will be plenty more that I’ll discover I don’t know and just thinking of it all sometimes seems overwhelming. It’s in those times I have a choice: accept that I’m in over my head OR believe that God has called me and has already made a way for me to navigate all this on straight paths.
I wish I could say it’s always the latter – some times it IS … and some times it isn’t. So! Please pray that I would have a firm hold on this calling. And let me know in the comments if you’re facing feelings over being overwhelmed. I would love to partner with you in prayer!
To close, I discovered Isaiah 61 for myself a few months ago and it has been KEY to me (it’s actually the passage I’m centering my race around!). This exact topic – feeling weak/overwhelmed – is what first struck me when I read the chapter. God says three things He will replace and one of them is a faint spirit. When I felt faint before I always thought I needed to ask for strength. God said, no girl – just praise me! Faint hearts are replaced by hearts of praise. That is where lasting strength is found.
Isaiah 61:3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion … the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit, that they may be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified.
