If I had to define America in one word in the moments after landing, it would be empty. Not just because of the apathy and the lack of life in the eyes of the people I’m walking past, but in the practical sense that I’m not pushing through crowds of people. The roads have almost no traffic. There are acres of space between the houses. I see almost no one outside of the AIM base here. And everything is SO NICE. The roads are flat. The ditches are mowed and full of wildflowers, not trash and little tarps that people actually live under. It’s a really uncomfortable feeling, especially after the Philippines.
And I know I’m going home. This part of my race is ending, and I’m never going to be together with my whole squad like this again. God has been walking me through the pain of this chapter of my life ending, and showing me that while the next chapter might be one of loneliness, that he’s training me to hold on to his faithfulness, his affirmation, and his comfort. He’s showing me that these last three years of building a temporary community and then having it come to a close after a couple months is coming to an end, and that I’m going to be walking into a season of more permanent community.
PSL has been so helpful in these realizations. We have hours of worship every day, and sessions that equip us and empower us to go home and bring what we have learned in the last year to our communities there. And to be here in the same place all this started has given me the chance to reflect on how much I’ve changed and grown over the past year, to see how much impact the Holy Spirit has had in my life.
Over the past week God had confirmed the things I’ve been thinking I’ve been hearing through the staff and through my squad. He’s brought more clarity to my future, not so much in the sense of ‘Hannah, this is what you’re going to do,’ but in the sense of reminding me of his faithfulness and the promises he’s brought to fulfillment over the race, and that his promises don’t stop now that I’m off the field.
So if you’re a racer wondering if you should come to PSL, the answer is yes. If you think God rocked your world at training camp, how much more do you think he will rock it now that you have experience hearing his voice and walking out this journey? Come see what he can do.
