When I revealed to my mother that I was going to road-trip to Georgia from Texas with 2 strangers to meet the 50 other strangers that I’d be spending the next year of my life with, her response was to “take pictures of as many people as possible and write down license plate numbers so if you go missing I have a trail to follow” (this story is actually just establishing a rationale for why there are so many pictures of Grace and Ben on my phone currently).
I then proceeded to tell her that I’d also be training with them in the woods for 10 days. Pitching tents, bucket showers, excessive sun exposure, embracing the smell of sweat and bug spray (the combo)…the works. (Note to self: when your parent has a laugh attack for 15 mins this is the surest sign that Jesus is about to stretch you).
I won’t go into detail about the different scenarios and challenges we faced (future racers you probably already know too much), but I will mention 3 lessons that I will definitely take onto the field with me. However, if you would like to hear more I’d love to grab coffee/ a meal with you and discuss (while I still have the liberty to do so, 6 weeks til launch eep!)
1. We are strong by design. We will survive. The human body never ceases to amaze me. Hiking with a 45 lb backpack in 95 degrees of Georgia heat, sleeping in cramped living quarters or in the trees with hammocks (and all the critters that come with the outdoors), inhaling red dirt while brushing our teeth, feasting on limited meal portions, embracing an ice cold good morning via a bucket shower every once in a while, and fighting sickness while running through a torrential downpour. It is encouraging to know that even all comforts aside we are well equipped to do any task at hand and that we are strong. We will adapt and we will survive.
2. Come without an agenda. While traveling to Georgia, one of my teammates revealed to me that she had a vision impairment that resulted in her not being able to see clearly at night. I was so moved by her story that for the next few days I prayed for her and asked the Holy Spirit to work through me to heal her eyes. Instead, on multiple accounts I would keep receiving visions. Now these visions did end up coming to pass (like team prayer for healing her eyes), but in the moment instead of being obedient to God with the gift He did give me, I was frustrated that it wasn’t the one I asked for (LOL AT THIS HUMAN). My prayer has now changed to ask The Holy Spirit to give me what it needs to in order to meet the needs of another- we aren’t the ones to receive the gifts it gives; it gives us gifts to give to another.
3. Be interested in Him more than His plan. You don’t need a plan; you just need to be present. During a listening prayer, one of my mentors approached me with the image of a rubix cube. At first, I remember being able to make zero connections with this image, but one thing she said to me will always stick. She said “you are so preoccupied always trying to match up all the colors that you are forgetting that this is just a game. Don’t be so fixed on the end goal of solving the cube that you get impatient and forget to have fun in the process of playing the game.” (Maybe this isn’t shocking if you know me, but for a 3-day-old friend to just drop this truth bomb on you is pretty awesome). My prayer for anyone reading this is that we wouldn’t be so fixed on the end goal of growth, or trying to somehow piece together God’s “ultimate plan for our lives,” but that we would learn to just enjoy His presence daily and that our lives would just naturally progress from there.
I returned to Texas 10 days later without a shower in 3 or something days, 5 shades darker from dirt or roasting in the sun idk (probably makes me ineligible for marriage somehow in my culture), and 50+ new brothers and sisters whom I now know by name. Please continue to keep us in your prayers, sooner than we know it we’ll be boarding a plane for our first month!
***Fundraising update: I have about $2,000 to raise by August 21st to be eligible for launch in September, please consider supporting me by clicking here.
