We are officially half way through the Race (insane how fast it’s going).
The reality of how much we pour out and die to ourselves on a daily basis has caught up with me and I’m tired. While praying about my lack of energy God was telling me it’s time to take some rest and let Him fill me back up so I don’t burnout in the next part of this season.
Once a week we are encouraged to take an adventure day and rest day on the Race. This week with Gods words in mind, I decided to combine the two. As a team we took a cable car up Mount Dajti National Park; the car takes you a little more than half way up. While the others continued to hike to the peak I found a quiet place to hang my hammock and take in all the beauty I was surrounded by. My private worship session with God turned into a 2 hour solid nap with fresh mountain air blowing all around me while I cocooned in my hammock. It was amazing and exactly what I needed in that moment.
With ministry, it’s so easy to get into the new routine of the month, speed through it, and never slow down to take in all the blessings around you. This has been at the center of my mind for the last month; noticeably as I read back through my prayers seeing that Ive continued to ask for time to slow down and the ability to truly take in and appreciate this experience. Before we went up the mountain I had booked a hotel room (with free cancellation just in case) so I could have a night alone in a real bed, with a real shower, with no distractions or temptations to neglect rest or time with God to reflect and process the last 5 and a half months.
As desired, I woke up refreshed and not because I slept in a super comfy king sized bed for the first time in 6 months but because mentally I was able to let God fill me back up. What I hadn’t noticed though when booking the hotel was how far out of the actual city it was. On the map it had seemed that I was on the edge of the park and when walking out my front door I’d be in the heart of the city like I had hoped for.
God clearly had other plans in store for me.
Turns out my hotel was actually a 15 to 20 min bus ride from the center, so the kind woman at the front desk gave me directions on where the bus stop was as well as the right bus to get on.
As I stood there waiting for the bus to come I heard God say just walk.
So I chose to walk instead.
I had no destination in mind or really any plan at all which is very out of character yet, I was happy to have the opportunity to do exactly what I’ve been praying for and take it all in.
As a generation we live with a FOMO mindset. So much so that I had almost canceled my night at the hotel for a movie night with my team knowing that’s not what I really needed.
During my walk, God let me know it’s ok to have FOMO we just need to check ourselves that it’s for the right things …
With that in mind, if I had gotten on the bus instead of walking I would have missed out on:
- Sitting on a street corner listening to an old man play an instrument similar to the bagpipes that was made completely out of recycled parts that looked like kitchen sink guts.
- Seeing the smile lines wrinkle on the faces of two old Albanian women laughing and gossiping as they walked home from the grocery store.
- Being able to buy a homeless woman a breakfast sandwich and give her some money for lunch all while doing my best to let her know how loved she is because she is a daughter of the one true King, Jesus Christ.
- This amazing bakery that smelled how I gather Heaven will smell. There were 6 different types of Baklava … it was incredibly hard to convince myself not try them all!
- Admiring a breathtaking college campus tucked into a corner of the city so perfectly that if I had walked too quickly I could have missed it.
- Sitting in a small park to avoid the heat that turned into watching old men bicker as they played dominos.
- Talking politics, race, family, and travel with the owner of a coffee shop over macchiatos and croissants.
- Finding an adorable little book shop attached to the library in the city center that had all the world classic stories beautifully bound that brought giddy nerdy excitement to my soul.
- Exchanging smiles with a toothless older man dressed to the nines in suspenders and a fedora who was just simply hanging out in the park.
- Wandering into a beautiful building that turned out to be a national history museum and then quietly joining a 60+ English speaking tour group.
- Meeting a waiter who had a World Race team at his university in December.
- Watching a bride get photographed outside the opera house in the city’s main square.
Moments that if they never had happened I wouldn’t of known I missed out on.
These interactions, these small blessings, these memories are what God calls us to have FOMO for.
It’s in these unplanned times we slow down enough to hear and see Him in everything.
Where we’re reminded that He is the rest we crave but we all too often forget how to humble ourselves enough to know we need Him to fill us back up.
