“When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.” Psalm 94:19
To be honest, ever since being accepted to The World Race I have had a lot of anxiety about fundraising. I have never had to raise money before for something like this before and my stomach literally drops every time I think about the estimated $17,500 that I still need to come up with.
In the beginning, all I could feel was joy and excitement about this amazing opportunity that God has given me. But as the weeks went on more fear and doubt started to creep in. I started getting more stressed about the whole process and one of the terrible ways that I handle stress and anxiety is by just trying to ignore it. Which doesn’t usually work out in my favor.
So what did I do for fundraising during the month of January after being accepted, you ask? I did what I do best! I procrastinated! I could feel myself getting more discouraged day after day of putting it off but I couldn’t work up the courage to start. I was getting so caught up in what I thought I needed to do to start I started losing sight of the real purpose of this Race and why I was doing this. But one of the most amazing things about Jesus is that he won’t let you forget.
A couple weeks ago, I received a last minute offer from my church (Forest Hill Church) to join them on a staff mission trip to Honduras that was leaving on February 20th. I was so stunned by this incredible opportunity and I accepted right away! Fast forward to today, I just think of how thankful I am to be sitting here with my team in San Lorenzo, Honduras serving the local communities.
I am thankful because God knows me so well. He knows that I needed this. I needed something drastic to wake me up from my fear and anxiety so that I could remember what missions are really about. They are about Him! And about them. In Matthew 22:37-39 it says,
“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
The World Race is not just about me raising money to go on a trip around the world! It’s about bringing glory to God by leaving your comfort zone and always putting Him. And it’s about the people whose lives are going to be impacted and changed. So instead of thinking about myself when fundraising, I want to choose to think others. From now on I want to look at every donation as a person I will help or an experience that I will have while I am on the Race.
When I receive a donation I want to think of the church I will help build, the women I’ll pray with who are trapped in human trafficking, the orphans I will care for and all the songs I will sing praising the One who created me. I pray that if you are considering supporting my Race that you would choose to think of those things too.
I couldn’t be more thankful for the new set of eyes God has given me and for reminding me what missions is truly about. It was just what I needed.
