It’s month 8. Wow. What? How did we get here? This time last year, I had just announced that I would be embarking on this incredible adventure, and now here we are. It’s surreal at times just how quickly time passes.
Oh, by the way, for those of you who don’t know, our route was updated to include Macedonia, in place of Greece. Due to the shift in needs from emergency, to long-term relief, many agencies AIM has partnered with are no longer in Greece. What a pleasant surprise Macedonia has brought our way.
As someone who struggles to put thoughts into words, blogging has been a struggle. Also, I’m finding out more and more each day how much I dislike communicating through technology. While it’s a glorious thing to be able to be halfway across the world, and still be able to communicate with people back home, it’s definitely not my strong suit.
The World Race has taught me that I much prefer face-to-face conversations, phone calls, and video calls to texting, emailing, messaging and the like. The latter continues to feel more impersonal the longer I’m dependent on it. It’s so hard to gauge interest, properly display/read emotions, and requires patience in waiting for a delayed response.
I’ve learned that I need to put more effort into keeping in touch with the important people in my life. I have been operating under the illusion that I have been able to keep up with the lives of so many, when in reality I don’t know what is really going on in their lives, just what’s displayed on my newsfeed. The world of social media tells us that we’re all connected, we know what our friends are experiencing, and we can keep up with all of them at the same time! The problem with this is that I see posts, I see pictures, but I don’t hear the stories behind them. I get this false sense of connectivity, and feel as though I already know what’s going on, and don’t need to reach out to catch up. Something that was meant to keep us all connected, has left me feeling disconnected. I’ve learned that I value learning about life events straight from the source, rather than from behind a computer screen.
I’ve learned that it’s ok to not know. It’s impossible to know everything, but that’s what I have expected of myself. If I don’t know everything, then I know nothing, or so I’ve told myself. If the world operated under this ideology, it would fail. How would it be any different for an individual? I can tell you, it’s not. This way of thinking has held me back, and prevented me from initiating new ventures for fear of failure.
I’ve learned that my story is not for me. My story matters, and it has shaped me into the person I am today. I’ve learned that while sharing my testimony with people I meet around the world helps me to acknowledge God working in me, it’s more about how God uses it for others. God turns our past into purpose.
I’ve learned that I am more than my past. Well, actually, I’ve learned to come to terms with my past. I used to think there wasn’t anything that really bothered me. The truth is I’ve just buried everything so far down that I could pretend it wasn’t there, but each thing I process through lifts a weight I didn’t even know was there.
I’ve learned that bringing my hurts to the light is part of the healing process. Pretending that something isn’t there doesn’t make it go away. The enemy wants us to keep things to ourselves, to be uncomfortable in the dark. This keeps us isolated, and feeling like no one can relate. The more we bring to the light, the more we realize we are not alone. We all make mistakes, we all have been hurt, and we all need help realizing that God’s grace really does apply to each one of his children.
I’ve learned that the world is filled Jesus followers. I’ve met people who were disowned by their parents when they chose to follow Jesus. I’ve met business owners who faced losing the majority of their customers just for deciding to be born again. I’ve come to know what it means to give your life to Christ, and be shunned by people you once thought were friends. I’ve met people facing daily persecution for their faith. I’ve met people so passionate about seeing the people of their country saved that they have completely dedicated their lives to sharing the gospel and showing God’s love.
It’s hard to put these past 7 months into words. It’s difficult to describe how seemingly simple day-to-day tasks lead to such complex triumphs and struggles. One thing is for sure, God has captured my heart, and I can’t wait to see what he’s got for me in the remaining 4 months.
