All too many people have tried to describe a year. If you don’t believe me, just watch the first 4 minutes of the musical RENT. They recommend counting sunsets, midnights, or cups of coffee, none of which makes any sense to me. I guess I need more concrete ideas of counting a year, but that is where I run into trouble. Not everything can be measured out in a way that makes sense. That’s not what life is, it’s not supposed to make sense. How else can I describe that one year passed faster than another? If I am using the five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes God gives me, and everyone else, why does some seem to fly while other minutes seem to drag on and on. Now is not a season for me where time drags on, I feel like time is moving faster than ever before and it’s only going to pick up from here.
It’s crazy to me to think where I was a year ago, where I am now, and where I will be one year from now. June of last year I spent going to class wishing I was just about anywhere else with this idea to maybe go into missions one day. Now, I have graduated college and I’m preparing to go out into the nations for (just under) a year. Next June, I am going to be off in the world just loving the people Jesus loved and following His call for me. Does that sound a little crazy to anyone else? Because it sounds a little crazy to me, but I love it. Yeah, I may stress over the details (big and small) of the race; what kind of sleeping bag should I get, will my funding come in in time, will my dog remember me when I get back? (That’s a big one for me, I love that little guy). I just need to remember to take a step back and know that God has watched over me and protected me over the last 22 years and there’s no way He’s going to stop now!
The year 2017 is going to be a crazy one for me that’s for sure but I have full trust in the Lord that it will be a crazy filled with adventure, love, and Him. John 13:7 says “Jesus replied, ‘You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand'” and that rings so true for me right now. I do not know why He called me to the World Race. I often feel inadequate and horribly unprepared but He called me anyway. I could easily wait for the “later” and just tread water until then, but I don’t think that is the point Jesus is making here. I think it’s about allowing Him to work in us DESPITE our lack of understanding. So while I may not know HOW I am going to be used, I am ready to be used and to be an instrument of Christ, however that may be.
So how exactly am I going to measure my year on the race? I think I’m going to steal the advice from RENT and just measure it in love. The love of Christ and the love for His people.
Much love,
Delaney
