The idea of going on the world race is something I’ve thought about for awhile, but not really. I’ve had a couple of friends who have gone in the past couple of years. I’ve heard about it, I’ve stalked their blogs, and I’ve been thankful to be able to support several friends who have gone on missions trips like this or gone into ‘full time’ missions in the States or overseas. I try to live very frugally so that I can support others and have more money to creatively give away. I went to Bible College where missions was a BIG deal. In my head I wanted to go, but in my actions I preferred to be comfortable and live with what I know. There’s always time to go later in life right?
I went to Brasil a few times throughout middle and high school and fell in LOVE with it. Since then I have really wanted to spend more than a couple of weeks at a time overseas sharing Jesus and experiencing a different kind of life. But I haven’t. Yet. I came up with excuses galore.
How will I get money? What if I don’t get all the money I need and have to cancel the trip and feel like a failure? What do I have to offer anyway? What will I eat (possibly my biggest concern)? I’m a vegetarian and lactose intolerant….which makes me a mostly unintentional vegan. But I like beans and rice and I think that’s a world wide staple or something. And unless you’re in a desert there’s always grass right? Cow’s can make do on that stuff… (I’m kind of kidding, though I ate grass for a college class once….not too bad!)
In reality, it all boiled down to the fact that I wasn’t willing to step THAT much out of my comfort zone, or trust God THAT much. THAT would be too much control to hand over! What if HE doesn’t come through or meet my ideal standards for living somewhere else? That’s too much trust. Wouldn’t want to be uncomfortable…though I’m sure the cross wasn’t too comfortable for Jesus now that I think about it. His life wasn’t too comfortable at all actually. Because HE desired US that much. But do I desire for others to know Christ that much?
I’m not sure what changed, but as I clicked on a friends link to her world race blog one day only a couple of weeks ago, I found myself browsing around feeling like I should apply. It began sounding like a neat adventure and expedition with God. I felt up to the challenge, and decided to apply and see what happened.
As you can tell, I got accepted and am now in for a ride! I’m deciding to live a story that will force me out of control. I am choosing to put myself in situations that force me to trust. I’m intentionally living a life that requires God. And we’ll see where it goes….
