Seven months ago, I ended my eleven month journey to eleven countries. It was definitely bittersweet. I got to see friends and family back home, but I had to say goodbye to people I had gone on this incredible adventure with for the past 11 months. The one thing I wasn’t scared about was missing the field because I had already committed to squad leading for five more months.
Well, here I am, sitting in Zimbabwe writing my final blog post from the field, my final blog post from my World Race experiences. If I start reflecting over the last 18 months of life, my mind becomes overwhelmed with all the goodness I have been able to see, to experience, all the adventures I have been on, all the friendships I have made. I remember the moments where I couldn’t stop laughing because life was so crazy, you couldn’t do anything else but laugh. I remember the moments where I cried tears of anger and sadness over not seeing someone healed or becoming overwhelmed by the poverty that is all around me. I remember the moments of disbelief and joy that God would call me to take part in the Kingdom work He does everyday all over the world.
I could honestly go on for years about every experience I have had, all the things I have seen, the good and the bad, and if you want to hear those stories, please ask. However, in this moment, as I reflect back and think of the one thing that completely encompasses my last 18 months, there is only one answer.
INTIMACY WITH THE FATHER
This thing called “The World Race” did not completely change my world, change my trajectory in life, change my mindset, change much of me, but God USED this adventure to completely transform me in just about every way possible.
I have never been so in love with the Father as I am right now. I have never been able to speak to and hear from the Lord like I do right now. I have never lived my entire life with hands wide open like I am right now. I have never felt so loved, so consumed, so overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit than I do right now. I have never felt like I could fail and be completely okay like I do right now.
The best part of all of this are the words RIGHT NOW. If I am where I am right now a year from now, I will not be satisfied, and that is what the Lord has done in my life. I am not content with going through the motions. I am not content with riding on the wings of other people’s walks or lives. I am not content living a passive life.
God has wooed me and drawn me closer to Him this past year and a half showing me so much about Him and so much about my identity in Him. This life is a vapor, it goes by so quickly, but God gives me purpose in my years here on this Earth. I used to think and say that life was better with God. Maybe part of me believed that. Now I say there is no life apart from God.
He is good. He is loving. He is kind. He is funny. He is adventurous. He is bold. He is courageous. He is mighty. He is my Father.
He is the One who plans my steps, and gosh, He is so much better at it than me. I could have never come up with this plan for my life in a million years, yet here I am at the end of it expecting even more in the years to come. The World Race is not going to be the highlight of my life, but I can truly say it is a turning point in my life. The trajectory of my life does not look the same anymore and PRAISE GOD FOR THAT!
I honestly don’t have a clue what it will look like. I’m not sure what my job will be in a month from now or where I will be living six months from now, what my career will be, the people I will be surrounded by, or pretty much anything else. I DO know that my life will be completely centered around this intimacy with the Lord I now have and that intimacy will continue to grow. I plan to live a life of obedience following whatever the Lord has for me. I know I will mess up, make the wrong decisions, hurt people and be hurt by people, but I also know I now have this unshakeable relationship with the Lord that has already overcome all these things.
GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME. ALL THE TIME, GOD IS GOOD.
I grew up saying those words every Sunday after church with them not really meaning anything. Now I say them as words of truth, words to believe in completely.
