A year ago, I was
about to turn 21. I was mourning the loss of my grandpa, celebrating my
cousin’s high school graduation, and getting excited to head to Kenya in a
month. I was looking forward to my 21st birthday party with friends
and family, working at the county fair, and heading back to LA in August for my
last semester of college.
Now, a year later, I
am sitting at the Maasai Ostrich Farm in Kenya, nearly halfway through the
World Race. I am missing my family and friends and wondering how I can possibly
get through the next five and a half months, especially when 2.5 of those
months are in Africa.
So much has happened
in the last year. I have celebrated graduating from college, both at home and
in Thailand. I have encountered God in so many new ways. I have hurt as He
reshaped my heart and my world, starting from the foundations and rocking me to
the core, restoring my heart as he redefines my identity in Him. I have been
wrecked, broken, and restored. My ideas of community, church, religion, faith
and even God himself have been utterly redefined.
I don’t really
recognize myself any more. That naive girl in Lake Naivasha, Kenya last year,
being called on the World Race to have her entire world rocked, probably would
never have signed up if she knew all it entailed. But God prodded her and
pulled her into a deeper relationship with him, and into a greater
understanding of who she is and her purpose in life-to love Him and His people.
Some days on this race,
I wake up from a dream about home and family, and wish I could fall back asleep
in dreamland, where everything is easy and comfortable. But alas, God is not
nearly as interested in my comfort as he is in my character. So there are still
five and a half months on this crazy pilgrimage around the world and into God’s
heart. It will likely continue to get more and more uncomfortable. There will
probably be more days where it is hard to think about anything other than being
home (the foods I will eat, the bed I will sleep in, the car I will drive, the
family and friends I will love and share life with again).
But on those days, I
have to remember that God is still good, that I am exactly where I am,
physically, mentally and emotionally, for his purpose, and that this
experience, long as it may seem, is actually quickly fleeting. When else in my
life will I have the opportunity to live in such intense, loving community, to
have these kinds of friendship, to meet people from all over the world who love
the Lord so passionately, to worship in a new language every month, and to
encounter God in a new place every 28 days or so?
525,600
minutes-that’s a year. The world race is approximately 322 days, which is
463,680 minutes. It’s nearly halfway over–so about 231,840 minutes left.
How will I measure
this year? This month? This day? The song says to measure in love. So let’s
love. Love God, love His people, be loved by God, be loved by His people.
Seasons of love, seasons of life. This race is a season, and within it are more
seasons, ups and downs, good days and bad days.
“Most Christians lead a
treadmill life-a life in which they can predict almost everything that will
come their way. But the souls that God leads into unpredictable and special
situations are isolated by Him. All they know is that God is holding them and
that He is dealing in their lives.”-LB Cowman
Currently I am
running a marathon in the world instead of on the treadmill. It’s nuts, it’hard, but it’s good, and will be good, because God is good, all the time.
I will leave you
with this quote about love, and being a full-time lover of the Lord and His
people. It is what I am aspiring to, and maybe after 11 months on the race, I
will be close.
“Lovers are distinguishable
because they are not motivated by accolades or money, but by a deep love for
Jesus (their king). This compels them to make radical choices marked by
sacrifice, risk, humility and excellence. They have found their significance in
their relationship with the Lord and understand their value. They are secure in
their identity and embrace God’s deep purposes for them. They display God’s
goodness, greatness and glory in and through their lives, and boldly welcome
the world to experience God for themselves.” -Banning Liebscher, Jesus Culture.
