I just got done counting and there are about 20 guys and 70 girls signed up to go on the World Race, July 2013 Route 2. Otherwise known as ou(R) squad. Catchy name isn’t it? Props to whoever it was in ou(R) squad that coined the phrase.
Let me repeat…20 guys to 70 girls. What guy wouldn’t want to travel 11 months around the world with an almost 4:1 girl to guy ratio? “I wouldn’t want to,” said no guy ever, lol. Especially when you factor in how beautiful these women are and how much they love the Lord. What’s not to like?
Before I get ahead of myself it is important you know some things about me that make me…me! I was raised by my mother for a good majority of my younger years. As I result I developed some…girly tendences, or at least that’s what I call them, lol. When I was younger and the weather was bad my mother and I would rent a couple chick flicks and buy some ice cream and sit down and watch them all. She would cry and I would be confused. I didn’t obviously understand love and “all that mushy stuff” then. Well…I do now, ha!
It was days like that that turned me into the full blown helpless romantic that I am today. Ever since I was a young I dreamed of being in love and finding “the one.” I always imagined being the first of my friends to get married and settle down. Turns out I’m one of the last. Not what I had in mind, but I know the Lord is still going to blow me away when it finally is. I can just imagine all the man points I’m losing with my fellow guy racers. It’s okay though, I’m happy with who I am and look forward to the man I will be after my 11 months serving around the world.
Getting back to the point, as soon as I was officially accepted into ou(R) squad, I started going through each of my fellow racer’s blogs to get to know them. About halfway through I was thinking “Are there ANY guys going on this trip?” Then other thoughts started to creep in like, “Maybe SHE will be on my squad/team!” which honestly got me really excited. I can’t speak for anybody but myself but as a 25 year old guy who is REALLY looking forward to being a husband and father someday you tend to have this reoccurring though each time you meet a beautiful woman of God…”Is she the one?”
But you see…therein lies the problem. I don’t want ‘the one’ to be the focus of my trip! I want to Lord to be. To quote the WR dating policy:
“There is a time and a place for you to find and develop a relationship with the person God wants you to spend the rest of your life with. This trip is not the time or the place to find that person. We have some very definite expectations and policies when it comes to male/female relationships within the contexts of our trips which we'll cover fully at training camp. The short version is that we don't allow any new romantic feelings that develop to be acted upon during the mission trip in any way. There are a lot of reasons for that which will be covered at training camp. Teammates are not allowed to date each other, including prior to or during the trip. If you are in a relationship, please update your application to reflect that person's name. If you are not in a relationship, please do not begin any new romantic relationships from the day you are accepted until the end of your trip. If you have additional questions after the training, we'll be happy to clarify or explain further. The only exception to these rules is for any married couples participating on this trip.”
Yikes, talk about throwing water on the flames! However, in a weird way I’m cool with it. I have come to find that singleness can be a blessing in you allow it to be! Though I’m not always a great example as I constantly fight God over this, “Is it time now?” 1 week later, “How bout now?” My prayer is that God will be my focus throughout my life and this trip.
My biggest fear, even more so than that of never finding the one, is looking back on my life and realizing I wasted so much of it by worrying about that very thing. I pray to see all my fellow lady racers as sisters in Christ and not the potential one while on the WR and the rest of my life if that’s what the Lord wants from me. Well I gotta run. My little sister’s b-ball game starts in 20 mins. 🙂
Blessings,
Chan
