This is it. This is what we’ve all been waiting for. Over 300 days on the race and we’re soon to finally hit back the sweet aroma of what we call home: America. In less than three weeks, I’ll be hitting the familiar sites, the sweet foods of grandma’s cooking, and the wonderful fellowship to follow all of these. It breaks my heart to see The World Race end, leaving probably the best community I’ve been in, and venturing back to an almost now foreign land, but it’s neccessary.
…Well, at least for a while.
One of the wonderful addictions I’ve picked up these past couple months is listening to podcasts. I was in the train heading to Lviv, and I put the worn, slightly-less white ipod headphones into my ears and started listening to a sermon about Ezekiel 47. It talks about going deeper into this river, taking the time every so often to check how far they’ve gone, and at the end looking how the man in the story explains that tons of creatures live where the river is, and where the river is everything will live. And the pastor goes on saying, how we are the one in the story being led by the man. We come to this place in the water, maybe ankle-deep, and we’re happy and content with it. But what are we doing to go farther? Are we preparing ourselves to head deeper, to let God guide us so we’re simming past our waste, to our shoulders, and ever over our heads with God’s presence and love? And it got me thinking.
So what am I doing to further myself, to go deeper, preparing the kingdom for God‘s glory?
Well, after praying (a TON), getting confirmation after confirmation, I’ve made the final decision that I will continue on and leave in January to head to Generation 42, a leadership academy in Mijas, Spain. There I will spend six months in intense training under the training of Andrew Shearman and his crew, studying more about theology, learning how to lead, continuing living the life as missionary by working around the community, and figuring out how to set up my dream ministry.
But what about your family and friends? What about college? What about the life you lived back in Minnesota?
Okay, maybe that last question didn’t sound quite that glorious, but it’s true, I do have to once again leave my family and friends for ANOTHER time. To be honest, I don’t know how long I will be gone. I’m planning to leave Minnesota already three weeks after arriving back, heading to New York to raise money with another squadmate. And who knows what God will have for me in store after Spain. But I know my calling is elsewhere. I love my family and friends, lovely little old minnesota….but I know my calling isn’t to stay home. I know that it was a big accomplishment to step out and travel the world for 11 months to tell people about Jesus, but that’s only a taste of what we can do. I want to step out. I want God to guide me into new areas, to push me in a running current. I want to God to teach me how to swim when I’m in water where I can’t do it on my own. God has got me by the hand, and calling me, saying to me, “Come, follow me”.
I fully believe G42 is the next step for me, and so I’m diving right in.
What’s yours?
