Life takes many unexpected twists and turns. It’s hard to make a lot of concrete plans in life and not be willing to shift and change a bit with them. That is one of the things I am continuing to learn in my journey with The World Race. Raising $16,257 while in school full time, leading Young Life (a para church youth outreach ministry), working 30 hours a week (now 60), and trying to fit time in the do stuff for the World Race has been hard. I’m not the only one alone in these struggles but here they are.
Time management and money management have been to areas of my life I have been getting better at over the past few years but I have a lifetime of growth ahead of me. That being said I have realized the God has plans for us to grow in certain ways and in certain times.
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jerimiah 29:11
This is a verse I heard about three years ago when I was working at Saranac village, a Young Life camp. While there I was tackled by 40 high school kids playing a game called “the greased pig”. Three other guys and I got lathered up in Crisco and ran out in to a field where 400-500 high-schoolers were waiting to tackle me and take a flag from me. They succeeded and while they were going for the flag they pulled at my hand at tore a ligament in my hand in the process.
I had to go to the hospital, I really didn’t want to, and undergo surgery while I was there working. This all happened in the span of a month. With the pain of the injury, the surgery, the sling, the pain meds, and a cast I worked the whole time on a high ropes course there. It was extremely difficult and I was angry at God and everything He was. I didn’t understand his plan for this occurrence.
It took me months to realize that The Lord wanted me to slow down and take a break from everything and focus on who he is and how I find my identity in him. I had never done that at the time. I try to be very giving with my time and neglect what is going on in my life for the sake of others. It seemed noble but in the long run because I was at such and extreme of not caring about my body and a deep connection with The Father and I was in anguish.
This season of my life I had to learn that The Lord has bigger plans for me than I can expect. Doing things for others brings me a lot of happiness. It makes me feel useful and appreciated even if I don’t get thanked for it. But He had bigger plans for me to experience true JOY in him! He doesn’t just want us to be happy with small things he wants us to go through life with an everlasting joy that only can be had through Jesus! He showed me a lot of hard things in my life and I grew past them and gave them up. I grew closer in this time of my than any previous time before.
This experience is much like what I am going through now. If you haven’t realized from the title I will not be going on The World Race in September. I will be going instead in January. Like I said above they are many personal finance issues that I am going through such as credit card debt, my family needs me to help out financially a bit, I need to buy a few more pieces of gear, and even if I raised the remaining $2,200 to reach this deadline of $10,000. I also had no set plan to raise the next 6,000 I needed.
I decided to stop trying so hard to make things happen that would make me happy. I don’t want to spend the next 3 months working 50-60 hours weeks. But through my time there I can love the people I work with that don’t know Jesus and continue to show them more of him through me. I can also get all my financial issues straightened out in that time period and have a bit leftover.
Not being with the people I went to training camp with is unfortunate but I get the opportunity to grow with the guys in my community. Jake, Austin, Whit, and Ian are some of the Godliest men you could ever meet. We are all a work in progress and I get to continue living life with them as we grow in our intimacy with The Father together.
Going on the race now would mean I get to get this portion of working and other things over with and now it seems like I am stuck in it. But I know that so much more joy is ahead of me. I know that the next route I am on is where I am supposed to be. I will mature more in the next 4 months as a man and in my relationship with Jesus. This is really what The World Race is about. I am realizing that now I can experience necessary growth here at home. I will still be growing while on the race, but I will be in a much better place in my life, I am only 21 years old, I definitely still have a lot to figure out. Even in the short amount of time I have before I leave in January. (I am looking at going on the “January route 2” you can fund the country list on The World Race home page.)
All I truly know is, (it’s a song that is sung to children, it was never sung to me because my upbringing was different but I find a lot of solace in it and I hope you do also.)
“Jesus love me this I know
For the Bible tells me so
Little ones to him belong
They are weak, but He is strong”
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