I am halfway done with this World Race thing. This amazing, once-in-a-lifetime journey is halfway over.
In a blink, it will be just a memory.
Woah, life is short. I mean really short. And time moves fast.
We've got to live our lives. Here and now. Starting today. What are we waiting for?
This is a theme I have constantly hit in this blog – living fully and really going for it now. Why are we waiting?
We always think there is some barrier, some reason why we can't do it. We always have some excuse for not getting up and going for our dreams, some reason why it would be imprudent or why now is not the time. We tiptoe, we walk way too carefully, and before we know it, the chance is gone. Opportunity flees, or we are just too tired and disinterested to want the opportunity anymore. We walk in too much fear, too much hesitation. Why are we so inhibited? Why don't we just go when we know it is time? Why don't we just do the things we know our soul is needing to do?
I used to always think, "when I'm older…" Or "when I'm more established…" Or "once I am fully educated in this area…" I always had a qualifier, some kind of self-imposed requirement I had to meet before I would release myself to go for a dream that mattered to me.
My qualifiers got knocked on their head in the slums of Costa Rica.
We worked with Christian Light Foundation, a ministry focused on discipleship in the violent and poor slums of San Jose. As soon as we walked into the community they've created over the last decade, I realized something was different.
Almost all the leaders were teenagers.
This community was an all-inclusive church and community for the whole area, for everyone, not just kids. But yet, the teens were the primary leaders. I was shocked.
Who in their right minds puts teenagers in charge of a church?
Yet, It didn't take long for my perspective to change.
These teens were amazing. Very responsible, and very involved out of their own fervor, their own desire. They love Jesus and their community with a holy zeal that is rare in anyone, especially teens. Their commitment and effort was unparalleled; they gave everything they had to love their families with the love of Christ, to pursue their friends, to disciple younger kids in the community that need attention desperately.
They are fully in love with Jesus. And they gave Him their all.
That made them some of the most capable leaders I've ever seen.
Age was not an excuse for them.
Nor was poverty, or tough family situations, or being busy with school.
They know the call on their lives – to surrender everything to God and follow His example of love and sacrifice to their world.
And they are doing it. Guns blazing, all in, nothing held back.
They don't accept barriers, or lies about their capabilities. They don't even pay attention to those doubting voices.
They just do it.
I'm 24 years old. Im still very young, but every year passes faster than the last. I don't have forever on this earth, and it want to fully live this beautiful life. I want to have no regrets. I want to fully step into the anointing, the callings that God has placed on my life. I want to honor Him, to glorify His sacrifice and Name by giving everything I can back to Him in His service.
I don't always know what that looks like. But I know I want it.
I never want to accept an excuse that says I can't. I never want one of those self-made barriers to paralyze me, to hold me back. I want to walk confidently and fully in the authority and ability He has placed on me. I want to do this life well, giving it everything I've got.
I thank God for the example of the teens in Los Guido for modeling that for me. They have humbled me and inspired me in ways I will never forget.
Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12
