When I was five years old, I remember riding the airport tram headed towards the gates. Holding tightly to my dad with one hand, and ‘Sleepytime Bear’ my well loved teddy in the other, I was mesmerized by the train, and all it signified.
New beginnings,
New people,
Definite change.
I had no idea then that the longing i was experiencing in my heart was one I would grow all too familiar with. A feeling which would tug at my heart strings for the rest of my life.
A longing for adventure,
Travel,
Meaning.
Wanderlust in its finest form.
At eleven years old, I found myself laying on my trampoline in the backyard, watching airplanes fly by. I was creating narratives for everyone on board. How I Wished to be the business woman headed to an important meeting, or the young boy headed to the beach for the very first time. The airplanes were calling to me even then.
Last night, I stood atop a mountain, gazing out on the twinkling city below me. The lights, mirroring the dancing stars I have seen all around the world. It was then, I felt an all too familiar friend, the recurring call to something more echoing up from the deepest parts of me.
A call for the unknown,
A call for depth,
A call for the Unseen.
An amazing longing which makes me feel so happy, and yet so empty at the same time.
When I first began preparing for the Race, there was this World Race promotion video, which I will never forget. The very first sentence in the video, and what ultimately made me determined to go on the Race, spoke directly to this longing I have always had calling to me.
“you have a whisper, or a rumor of something more, something different, something unique, something you haven’t yet tapped into on the inside of you, i believe that’s the Kingdom…. see that’s when all of a sudden our dreams aren’t about us anymore… it’s a chance, a chance to actually start living and thinking beyond yourself.”
A whisper of something more. Different. Unique.
I think all to often I feel that longing for More, a calling for deeper things and new places, and I get caught up thinking it’s about traveling.
I have such a deep passion for travel, but for me, my wanderlust points to a deeper longing which is so uniquely mirrored in the excitement and freshness of new places and cultures.
I think more then anything I miss the excitement and adventure of the Kingdom. My desire for new cultures, mirrored by my desire for new faces of God. My desire for new adventures, a deeper calling, for new experiences of His goodness.
I think that while my heart is longing for ‘far out places, dashing sword fights, and a prince in disguise,’ it is even more so longing for that fullness if feel, when i am exactly where the Lord has called me to be. Releasing the kingdom of God, and living a life fully alive.
And so I will use every tug toward travel and excitement, to remember instead to press deeper into the kingdom, into the Father’s heart, and into the call to love a life of abundance.
How do the deep callings of your heart reflect the deeper calling of the kingdom?
