– Seth Barnes
It was no coincidence that while I was contemplating taking this position, I was in a "Not A Fan" Life Group through my Church. In my heart, I knew my decision would determine if I was a committed follower of Christ or just merely a fan. Wanting to do the right thing, I decided to take the plunge and move into The 180 Zone Men's Home as the night manager. At first, it was hard getting used to living with eight other adults. I was constantly worried that I would be "stepping on somebody else's toes" or just be in the way. However, after awhile, I started to enjoy living there. I was able to see all the extraordinary things God was doing in these guys' lives. My relationship with them went from being their house manager to being their friend. I realized that we had more in common that I previously thought. Just because I've never been homeless or in prison didn't mean that we couldn't relate to each other. Like them, I also have my "stuff" to deal with. We all have different problems, but we find unity in knowing that they all require the same Answer.
One good thing was the fact that I did have place I could go to when I wanted to be alone. I had my very own bedroom which was the size of a studio apartment. I also had with my own bathroom and my own closet. So, to be honest, the sacrifice I made to move in wasn't that big of one. Because of that, I was beginning to get comfortable with living at The 180 Zone Men's Home. However, just like my first apartment, I was asked to give all that up. I received a phone call about a month ago from Chad, the house manager. He said, "Hey, Clay. There are more guys who need to get into the house, but there just isn't enough room. Your bedroom is really big. You're the only one in there. Would you mind letting one of the guys be your roommate?"
Admittedly, my first thoughts were, "You have got to be kidding me? First, you ask me to move into a house like this. Now, you're asking me to share my room?! Dude, I need my space." My second thoughts…well, they weren't really my thoughts. They were the Holy Spirit's. God asked me, "Uh, Clay. How in the world do you think you are going to make it on The World Race if your personal space is so precious to you?" After that, my attitude completely change. I looked at this experience with a roommate as a way for God to groom and prepare me for this adventure that He has called me to do. A week later, a guy by the name of Raphael moved from the downstairs level of The 180 Zone Men's Home up into my room. To be frank, I am not exactly comfortable yet. That doesn't mean that I'm not happy, though. Although it can be difficult and uncertain at times, I love having Raphael as my roomie.
When I moved into The 180 Zone Men's home back in July of 2012, I had no idea that I was about to go on The World Race exactly one year later. Looking back, I have realized that God has been slowly taking things away from me and gradually making my comfort zone smaller and smaller. God can't move that much in our comfort zone, so we have to learn to move out of them. When God gives us a cross to bear, it's uncomfortable. However, over time, we get used to that cross until we are comfortable again just like I got used to living in The 180 Zone's Men's Home. It's during those times, though, that we have to be willing to move and become uncomfortable again by picking up yet another uncomfortable cross.
