If someone asked you right this second what you have to offer the world, what would you say? Would you be quick to respond with an answer of talent like music or art? Or would you reply with an attribute like kindness, or hope, or charity? Think about it. It’s a hard question, isn’t it? I mean your school is one thing, your church, your community or town, or even your city. But world? That’s a pretty vast canvas to cover, and a lot of paint, a lot of influence it would take to have an effect. Up until I signed up for the World Race, I wouldn’t have known how to answer that. I would have said maybe medicine of some sort, maybe I could physically help someone out, or many if I was lucky. But how is one one individual supposed to change the world? How can one person’s paintbrush be so giant?
The scriptures have never been more important to me than they have this past year. I read almost everyday now, whether it is through the daily scripture that pops up on my phone every morning, or the time I am able to set aside and actually read, actually study God’s words. And something that I have noticed prominently in the last several months, is that if you look through the bible, not one of the prophets we read of were enabled to do what they did through themselves. Peter did not walk on water because he himself decided he could. Moses did not simply command the Red Sea to part and have it obey. Think about Sarah and Abraham, having Isaac long after they physically thought they could. Think about water turning into blood. A leper being healed from a simple touch. A dead man being raised. A blind man, able to see again. Or Manna, feeding thousands of people year after year. Prophets and people who experienced and performed these miracles were not perfect or holy or godly. They were simply people who opened their hearts to the Lord, and allowed God to use them in anyway he wanted to be the physical hands and feet of Christ.
Telling people about the World Race has been a struggle for me. I did not grow up in a non-denominational church. So at first when people asked me why exactly I decided to go, or what I expect to accomplish, it was hard for me to come up with any other answer except I know in my heart that I am being called to go. There has been skepticism, and doubt, and hesitation from both myself and those around me. I’ve had moments, more then I can probably count, in which I questioned whether this was the right decision for me. Am I knowledgeable enough to spend a year preaching the gospel? Am I influencing enough to bring others to Christ? Am I outgoing enough to speak to so many strangers, give multiple lessons, or make an actual difference as a part of a team?
OF COURSE, WITHOUT A DOUBT, YES, AND NO QUESTION, are the only things that are in my mind right now. Have you ever thought about whether Moses ever felt afraid? Or whether the blind man felt discouraged at the thought of a lifetime of no color? I can’t sit here and tell you exactly what they felt because I, like you, have only read about them. But what I can tell you is that they were people, just like us. They were human, and they were probably terrified. But unlike most people they had 100% ABSOLUTE faith. They were sure, with ALL of their being and might that if they put themselves in a position to be used by the Lord then they would be used, and enabled, and protected. They would be provided for.
Next year, I am leaving home to embark on the greatest, scariest, most exciting adventure of my life. I am unsure, unprepared, and not yet completely financed. But regardless of whether I am ready, or whether I am supported by every person I talk to, I know that if I put myself in Moses’s position, or Paul’s, Peter’s, Noah’s, Elijah’s or Sarah’s, in a place where I put all of my faith and belief and completely depend on the Lord, I WILL be on a plane leaving for the Dominican Republic next September.
Next year, I am going to leave a mark on the World. Maybe it won’t be in some dramatic everyone knows kind of way. But God will know. How? Because it’s not me that will be doing it, it will be HIM. I have a chance to paint an amazing picture. And it might be in one specific community, or it might be with a team mate on my squad, or it might be a child who I can connect with. Every individual is God’s world. We are all his creation, we are all made and loved and appreciated for who we are and what we have been given. So whether I know what I am capable of or not, God knows. And I can’t wait for him to show me what I can do if I live my life through him.
If you asked me today what I have to offer the World I wouldn’t have to hesitate. I would say that I alone have nothing. But with God, I have infinite possibility to accomplish anything. My canvas has no limit anymore. I have every color, every capability to teach, and minister, and create amazing relationships and experiences. By the end of next year, I will be fully funded. If God can calm a storm with a simple whisper, or heal someone with a gentle touch, then he can inspire those around me, or even those who do not know me, with the knowledge of how important this mission is to me and to those who might be affected by the picture I paint.
Thank you SO much for reading my blog!!! I have a deadline of $5,000 by June 16th, so if you feel inspired please just click on the donate button to help me achieve my goal! I have been so blessed and supported by many friends and family, and every cent is a blessing and a message to me from God that I’m meant to do this and am fully enabled. An important part to painting the right picture is preparing for it. You need paintbrushes, and paint, and water, and canvas. There is important preparation that the artist (God) is already getting ready. I’ can’t wait to be part of the painting.
God bless:)
