At home we have a golden retriever and he LOVES attention and loves to be by you. If you pet him, he will be your BFF. If you look at him, he will keep scooting closer and closer and keep giving you a smile that says, “how else can I love you??” He’s so sweet and he just wants to love on us, be close to us and spend time with us – all day every day. We are his whole world! This is a typical trait of golden retrievers, but not so much for humans. The funny thing is though, this is the way I think about my relationship with Jesus. Lately I can’t take my eyes off Him, I can’t get close enough to Him, I can’t stop asking the question, “how else can I show my love for you?” My biggest priority in life is following Jesus and showing Him how much I love Him by doing what He asks.
Following Jesus isn’t easy. And life isn’t easy or fair once you accept Jesus as your Lord, but there is a huge weight lifted off your shoulders once you realize you don’t have to do anything on your own. He gives a peace that covers all situations – big and small – and it’s a peace like nothing I have ever felt before. I would rather have this closeness to Jesus than anything else in the world. The last few months I have felt God say over and over, that He wants ALL of me right now and I am gladly stepping away from a lot of things in my life so that Jesus is my only focus.
My team got an e-mail from Seth Barnes (the guy who started the World Race – yeah kind of a big deal!) and he asked us if we were absolutely sure that we were all in. It was yet another reminder from the Lord that He is asking for all of me. He is going to break me, change me, push me, mold me, challenge me, and teach me so much in this next year. I know it won’t be pretty, easy, or fun everyday but I want to be changed and molded into the person Jesus created me to be. I can’t claim to be a follower of Christ and not take any risks for furthering His Kingdom. I know friends of mine are worried about Ebola, malaria, terrorism, missing planes, etc. and are nervous for me to leave. I’m not naive, but I honestly am not worried about any of those things. In the book Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis she says, “I am much more terrified of living a comfortable life in a self-serving society and failing to follow Jesus, than I am of any illness or tragedy in this world.” That pretty much sums up the way I feel. I am a follower of Christ and I will gladly and boldly go wherever He calls me, no matter how hard it will be. I am all in!
Lately I have been thinking a lot about this peace I feel. In the past year I have really come to know what that word truly means and feels like. It also makes me sad to think that there are people out there who truly don’t know what it feels like to rest in Jesus. I don’t know how I could go through life if I was constantly stressing about everything and trying to do it all on my own. I want EVERYONE to have this pure peaceful joy that I have! It is overwhelming, in a good way. God created us to depend on Him, He loves it when we are needy and let Him carry our burdens and our worries. I have come to really appreciate this and take advantage of every situation I face by using it to actually put my faith in Him to the test – and Jesus always comes through.
How can you also go through life with this peace that I’m talking about? It’s easy, and it’s free! All you have to do is trust Jesus and ask for His help. At first it was so easy for me to forget to pray when something ruffled my feathers, but in every situation the Holy Spirit gently reminds me that Jesus is here to help me, and prayer has become a habit. I am the last person to be giving advice on how to live a more God centered life, but as I said before – I just want everyone to have what I have because life is truly more enjoyable with Jesus. 🙂 I’m so thankful Jesus is here to help me with the small things (like helping me concentrate to set up my tent for the first time) and the really big things (like leaving for 11 months straight.) DID I MENTION HOW EXCITED I AM TO START THE RACE!?!?! 🙂
Right now I feel like I’m ready to jump off a cliff into the unknown. It’s great feeling so completely peaceful about going wherever He leads. I’m excited to meet the people He brings across my path that I’ll be blessed enough to love on. I’m excited to be stretched in ways I can’t even imagine. I’m excited to know more about my King than I ever have before!
Having an unreal peace about an unknown future is the theme of my life right now. I pray that each of you reading this feels it too! 🙂
Thanks for catching up!
Love,
Heather
