Coming on the Race was a leap of faith for me, in more ways than one. It was a leap to leave my family, my support system and security back at home. It was a leap to leave my friends, knowing our lives were headed in different directions, wondering if our paths would merge once again when I returned home. It was a leap of faith to walk away from the work-force, to walk away from the booming voices of professors, classmates, and colleagues telling me how costly a ‘year off’ would be to my career. And of course, it was a leap of faith with my finances, seeing the looming dollar signs over my head everywhere I walked… $15,500 to raise for an entire year. It seemed so big, it seemed so impossible. For a long time, I forgot God’s promise that nothing is impossible with Him, and I fought anxiety over that large number, wondering how on earth I was going to raise that much money on my own.
But in the months leading up to the Race, the Lord showed me countless times that I was never on my own, that in fact, not only was I always walking in the light of His presence, but that I am truly blessed beyond measure by the people He has placed in my life who have walked with me since the day I decided to go. So I want to say THANK YOU. Thank you, thank you, thank you to each person in my life who has been a prayer warrior for me, organized a fundraiser, sent in a check (or multiple checks!) and took this leap of faith with me. I am blessed beyond measure because of you, not only to be able to say that I am fully funded for The World Race (Praise God!), but because through you I saw the body of Christ at work first hand. I learned how to trust God and His goodness by your selflessness, by the sacrifices so many people have made to allow me to continue on this journey. I learned how to let people care for me, understanding this was never something I could have done on my own. And my heart is SO full of joy at the story God is writing with my life, and each character that has played a part in this story. My life is richer because of you.
So friends, family, acquaintances, and complete strangers, THANK YOU. Thank you for your donations, for each blog and post you’ve shared on Facebook, for each e-mail of encouragement I find my inbox, for each message asking what I need prayer for, for each comment on my blogs and for the letters from home I read each month. Thank you for allowing God to use you in a way far beyond what our eyes can see. I pray that you too are blessed beyond measure for your faithfulness.
Joyfully,
Jaclyn
