Hey guys! I asked my teammate Jesse Smothers to write a blog about the growth he’s seen in me in the last 7 months. I also wrote a blog for him! Jesse has been the Barnabas to my Paul (or vice versa) on this journey. We have spent a lot of time praying and talking through things we struggle with, and things God has been doing in us. If anybody can speak to the growth in my life, it’s him. I love this dude a lot. Please enjoy!
also $5 to anyone who can spot the Get Smart reference in this blog (it’s both mine and Jesse‘s favorite movie)
Cy has grown so much during this trip. Cy’s grown in a lot of areas, but the three I want to talk about are leadership, peace and humility, and a kingdom mindset. Also Cy’s not talking in third person, he’s not that weird, he asked me to write a blog for him about the growth in his life these past seven months. So I, Jesse, am writing this blog right now and he’s also writing one for me!
Leadership. Cy is a natural leader. He’s someone who people look up to and listen to and love to follow. During the beginning of the race he would step up all the time, it wouldn’t matter what it was. Whether we needed someone to give a word or pray or lead our team time Cy was the guy. Pretty quickly Cy realized something and told our team that he felt like he was taking opportunities from us to step up and lead, so he decided he was going to take a big step back. This pushed me and the other guys and challenged us to grow in our leadership abilities. It was so mature of him and so cool that he saw that and wanted to change. Now, seven months later, we have all grown as leaders immensely, and Cy is polishing his skills. We were at a nursing home one day and they asked someone to speak last minute, so we all just looked down and avoided eye contact, which usually works very well. Nathan suggested Cy should speak though, and even though he had nothing prepared and was speaking in about ten minutes, he agreed to give a message. That’s the kind of leadership that’s impressive. When absolutely no one wants to do it, putting yourself out there and not being afraid to expose yourself. He also completely relied on God for his entire message that day and it was so noticeable, it definitely touched people. He has been such a role model for me and has helped me grow as a leader and I’m so thankful.
Second, Cy has truly increased in peace and humility, and it has been awesome seeing him walk through that. In South Africa Cy told me about a vision God gave him where he was building a foundation for his house, which was his life, but there were a couple huge boulders getting in
the way; pride and anxiety. Cy and I talked a lot about struggling with pride, it’s hard not to be prideful when your so strong, handsome, and naturally good at everything, Haha. For real though, it’s something we both struggled with, and was great having someone to walk through it with. Now, after doing seven months of life with Cy, it’s noticeable how much he’s grown in humility and I highly respect him for it. One boulder in his foundation destroyed! Anxiety was the other one, and he has conquered that in his life too! Of course it tries to creep back up every now and again, but he has claimed victory over it. I remember in Costa Rica he rarely ever slept good, he would often be anxious about the future, and in South Africa he told me about dreams he had where anxiety would just attack him. God has broken that chain in his life, and it no longer weighs him down, the other boulder obliterated! Cy has grown exceptionally in peace and humility, and his growth has not only been inspiring to me, but many others on our squad as well.
Lastly, and possibly most importantly, Cy’s kingdom mindset has grown like crazy. This one is important to me because it impacted my life so much. He started the race off wanting to be a nurse, and now he wants to move to Austin Texas and start a house church with a solid group of Christ followers and greatly impact the community around him. After he told me about his new passion a couple months ago, it really got me thinking about my future. I want to do something for God’s kingdom when I’m older, and Cy really got me thinking about my passions and my future after the race. So thanks Cy, you always have been and always will be a huge role model for me.
Those are just a few areas Cy has grown in during the race. Don’t get me wrong, he’s still Cy Calhoun, but he’s coming back to America a different man. One who is so confident in his identity in Christ. I don’t know for sure if he’s moving to Austin or if he’ll end up starting a house church, but one thing I do know for sure is that he is going to greatly impact God’s kingdom no matter what he ends up doing. Thanks for being my brother, I’m so blessed man.
FYI this man is single, so ladies snatch him up ASAP as possible.
