It seems to me that the past few months of my life have gone by faster than I could take an actual breath. I had always been told that high school goes by fast, but I never really realized it until it happened to me. Last saturday I graduated high school and I have spent the past week reflecting on what that means for me. Graduating means that I have to leave everything behind. All the clubs, all of my teachers, all of my directors, all the familiarity, and hardest of all: my people. I have done my job as a highschooler and I’m moving on to prepare for my job as a worldracer. But I know I don’t have to say goodbye just yet because I have a whole summer ahead of me. I just hope that in high school I made people feel loved and cherished when they felt alone. I hope people felt better after having a conversation with me. I hope that I helped people find hope when there seemed to be none left. I hope someone saw Jesus in me while watching how I live my life.
I thank God for my high school experience because it was such a special and pivotal time in my life. I have been molded and shaped by those experiences and I can’t wait for new experiences in the future. It’s so crazy to think I am about to leave everything I know and literally go into the world and make God’s love known.
One thing that people tell me almost every time they talk to me about the race is “Wow Hannah, you’re gonna have so much FUN!”. And my response is almost always “Yeah! I can’t wait!”. But once I step back, I realized that if I’m doing this for the fun, I’m doing it for the wrong reason. The world race is going to be a lot harder than I can even imagine. I can tell you right now that I am not doing the world race to have “fun” and to show how “great” of a person I am.
Romans 3:27
“Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith.”
Anyone could do the world race if they felt led to. I am doing it to learn about how the Lord loves his people and how I can learn to love people as he does, no matter what their background is. I am doing the world race to learn about what authentic community is when all comfort zones are ripped away. I am doing it to know what it TRULY means to depend on the Lord.
In the words of my favorite christian rap duo, Social Club Misfits, and pastor Chris Durso:
“If you are doing this thing for applause or accolades
Then you are in it from the wrong reason, why?
Because the bible clearly states that all glory, all honor does not belong to us
It all belongs to Jesus Christ
So when you enter in this thing be sure that you know, that you understand
And that you are okay with knowing that all the work may be done by you
But all the praise and thank you’s belong to Him”
This “thing” they are referring to is the life of following Jesus, but can also apply to the world race and anything else that you are being called to. This really hit me the first time I heard it and it made me realize that I need to be living my life in a way that points all glory back to our Creator.
So on that note, all thanks to God and by the grace of God, I have successfully raised $5,000! This puts me right at my june deadline! That means I am 30.12% funded! I am SO thankful for each and every person who has donated! I have a lot of hope that we can reach $16,600!! Real talk, fundraising is a total new experience for me. I am learning to get fear out of my mind and cling to the promise that God provides! So, thank you to everyone who has helped me get over my first hurtle with my fundraising, you are a vessel of hope for me!
My next deadline is $10,000 by august! SO if you haven’t given yet or feel led to give more, the donate button is just a click away!
Your prayers are also so much appreciated. I not only ask for prayer for myself, but for my whole squad (and our families!) as we prepare spiritually, physically, and financially for the race (and training camp as well)!
Blessings,
Hannah Keller
