I have dreamt about the World Race for years. Since I first heard about this trip, I knew it was something I wanted, almost needed, to do. I felt like this trip was designed for me. I am a person of habit, a person who doesn’t often try new things, but this missions opportunity will push me out of my comfort zone and into a life of new opportunities, freedom, and fun.
I watched a video World Race made called “The New Project.” In the video, racers were being filmed doing something new. From trying new foods, to jumping off cliffs, to evangelizing, to visiting people they don’t even know. As soon as the video ended, I thought, “I can’t wait.” But not three seconds passed before I had an aha moment and I realized I don’t have to!
I was born in America. I’ve lived in the same city my entire life, and after 18 years, I’ll only be leaving it for nine months. After World Race, I’ll most likely live in America again, and for the first few years at least, in my same little ole Lakeland.
All this to say, God has called me to this amazing trip, but I’m not sure He wants this to be the best nine months of my life, because my life isn’t put on hold just because I’m not traveling the world. If that were the case, I would have yet to live, because I’ve barely been anywhere!
This trip will be amazing; a once in a lifetime event that I have been looking forward to for years. By that doesn’t mean I can’t start having that incredible, adventurous, try-new-things lifestyle now! I am 100% sure that God has great things for me this next year, but I am also 100% sure that just because I’m in America, living my everyday life, doesn’t mean He doesn’t want me to have new experiences and live that fully, too.
My word for 2017 is embrace. I would think about this word and think about how great it is for World Race. But I can – I should – embrace now. I can be a witness to the hurt, the lost, the broken right here in Lakeland. I can try new things, meet new people, and push myself out of my comfort zone right here in my hometown. Ministry doesn’t start once you leave your country; ministry starts here, right now, wherever you are.
I still have 7 months until this super exciting, life changing adventure across the world begins. But one of my goals over the next 7 months is to live as if I was already on the mission field, experiencing a super exciting, life changing adventure. Because that’s what life is – a super exciting, life changing adventure full of opportunity, if we only choose to embrace it.
