Dear Racers,
I was very excited when I found out I was going to be able to come and share with you at your final debrief. And I was VERY upset when my plans got changed around making it not possible for me to come. So in place of my being there and sharing with you, I’m writing you this letter.
Congratulations. I’m proud of you. You fought the good fight and persevered to the end. Yes, it is a big deal. No, this is not the climax of your life. This is a starting point. This is your chance to take what you’ve learned this year (the good, the bad, and the sometimes very ugly) and apply it to the many decisions you will soon be faced with, and will face for the rest of your life. I imagine you’ve learned a lot of things this year. One of those things being that you haven’t learned enough and have a lot more to learn. If you have learned it all, please call me.
If you finished this time and thought “I did a lot this year, but it’s not enough”, then good. If the culmination of all good things you were to accomplish ended with the World Race, the rest of your life would be pretty lame. Reach higher. If you finally made it through the desert to the base of the mountain this year, start climbing the mountain. If you made it to the top of the mountain, reach for the clouds. You were meant for more, and that more is a continuous, changing thing that God will bring to completion in HIS good time, not yours.
When come back home, it will be hard. Time has not stood still while you were away, and things might be different. Do not be discouraged or dismayed by this. Take heart, the Lord has plans for you. Seek His will and find out what they are. If you are having a hard time, tell someone. Don’t hold it in. We are to bear one another’s burdens. We are to encourage and strengthen each other.
” Each one helps his neighbor And says to his brother, “Be strong!”
So the craftsman encourages the smelter, And he who smooths metal with the hammer encourages him who beats the anvil, Saying of the soldering, “It is good”; And he fastens it with nails, So that it will not totter.
“But you, Israel, My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, Descendant of Abraham My friend,
You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, And called from its remotest parts And said to you, ‘You are My servant, I have chosen you and not rejected you.
‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ (Isaiah 41:6-10)
I encourage you in the Lord. I pray blessings over your lives and ask God to direct your ways.
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)
Now in the name of Jesus Christ, through whom all things are made possible, grace and peace be upon you wherever you go, and may He grant you His perfect joy, to the honor and glory of His name. Amen.
Love,
Spano
