I would like to introduce you to a part of my life over the last 11 months. I like to call them World Race Moments.
Definition: A moment in time when I gain a bit of perspective and realize how cool and crazy my life is and it is totally all because of God.
Examples:
Walking to my hut with the most beautiful sky filled with stars
Letting the same little girl fall asleep in my lap every single night
Worshipping God by dancing with all my new friends
Riding on the back of a moto weaving in between cars and secretly hoping I live to see 5 minutes from now
Riding 6 deep in the back of a car while the pastor tells me “This is Africa”
Observing an eye surgery performed in an extremely dirty room but giving someone their sight back
Laying outside in my sleeping bag staring at the most beautiful sky filled with shooting stars
Standing in front of the Taj Mahal with three of my best friends
Cramming 11 people into a tiny tuk tuk on Christmas Eve
Hiking through the Himalayas and sharing the Gospel with people who have never heard of Jesus
Asking to use a stranger’s bathroom before I pee my pants
Walking around Phnom Penh with my team exploring new sights
Sitting around the lunch table at church experiencing community
Spending the day after my birthday with my entire squad at Phi Phi Islands
Riding in the back of a truck listening to worship music on the way home from ministry
Sitting and praying with a mom and her kids who beg for money on the streets
Falling asleep to the bass of the club music you sleep right above
Playing basketball against the local tourist police
Giving a 16 year old girl a second chance at an education and at life
Fitting 30+ people in the back of a pick up truck driving down winding mountain roads
Hugging and praying for a 13 year old girl crying because she is experiencing so much freedom and forgiveness
Celebrating a host’s golden birthday all dressed up in “Paris”
Playing soccer and volleyball with all my church friends
Sitting around a loud table of teenagers dying laughing and playing games
Spending the 4th of July in a canyon cliff jumping with all my friends
Worshipping with my squad for the very last time altogether
This may seem like a long list, but this doesn’t put a dent in the amount of times I have World Race Moments. I loved to speak them out loud whether it was a moment to laugh, to appreciate, or to wonder where the heck I am and what I’m doing. As I look back on my World Race, I love to remember these moments and times when life just seemed so crazy whether it was in a good or bad way. Some of the moments I mentioned are very specific to the places, but the majority of them are moments I could experience every single day if I chose to stop and just take in my life whatever it is I’m doing.
I have decided I will change the name simply to Life Moments. These moments are basically just a time where I took enough time to step back and realize how good and awesome God is and recognized him in my life. It was a time where I felt humbled by our Creator, a time I felt worthy to be used by His Kingdom, a time I wondered where I am and what I am doing and the Lord reminded me He was with me and had me there for a reason and a purpose.
On my squad, at every single debrief, after we had heard lots of good teaching, a chair was usually pulled to the front of the room. This was a chair where we would stand up on it and declare things over our lives. The declarations were anything from saying who we were in Christ to saying what we are choosing to do in the next few months for ourselves and for the Kingdom.
So to my supporters, my friends, my family, my squad, and anyone who decides to read this blog, I give you permission to hold me accountable to what I’m about to say.
I am standing on the chair of declarations right now, and I am declaring that these World Race Moments will not end just because my Race is ending. These World Race Moments, I have now deemed Life Moments, will continue for the rest of my entire life no matter where I am or what I am doing because God is always there no matter what. So, I declare I will seek perspective far more often. I declare I will recognize way more often exactly where God is moving in my life, and I declare I will never stop chasing after these moments because that means I will never stop following the Lord and being exactly where He wants me no matter where that might be or who it might be with.
God, thank you for the last 11 months. Thank you for my squadmates who taught me so much whether we were on the same team or not. Thank for my teammates who saw me at my worst and still loved me, who had to put up with my crazy self every day for a very long time. Thank You for Taylor Baker, who literally had to put up with me every single day for the last 11 months, with the exception of 9 days we were apart (Lord, bless her immensely). Thank You for all my supporters back home, my friends, my family, and the people I hardly know who were praying for me this entire time. It is hard to believe my time on the World Race has come to an end, but I pray the only thing that changes is my physical location. Lord, thank You for the lessons learned and the times just spent in Your presence over the last 11 months. I pray You multiply those in the next 11 months! I could go on and on, but I don’t have the words to express how thankful I am for this entire journey! I am humbled in the biggest way to have been able to do what I did for this past year of my life. God, You are good all the time. All the time, You are good. Amen.
