“One of the greatest mistakes you can make in life is to continually fear you will make one” -Elbert Hubbard
This has become a phrase that resonates in my mind. Each day seems to be flying by and the reality that I will be leaving in a few short months is starting to feel more real. I’ve started to fear things, little things that keep coming up, I’ve started to fear that I won’t hit my fundraising goals, that I won’t be physically or mentally or spiritually ready for such an intense journey. I’ve started to fear that I won’t be formed into the person that my team or all those people we meet along the way need me to be. I’ve even feared that choosing to go on the World Race is a Mistake.
All of these fears, to me seem normal, they seem logical, however thats the thing about fears, sometimes it’s good to listen to them and sometimes its not. Sometimes you have to ‘feel the fear and do it anyways’ It has become evident to me that this mission trip very well could be a mistake but I know that without a shadow of a doubt it would be an even bigger mistake not to go.
I’ve learned to see mistakes differently, I’ve learned to embrace them and incorporate them into becoming a better version of myself. I’ve learned to laugh them off and move forward. Being afraid of making a mistake is the greatest mistake you can make because living in fear cripples you, cripples your soul and your growth.
Preparing for the World Race has taught me many things. It has taught me that some people who you thought would support you don’t, that some people who you never expected to support you are your biggest cheerleaders and that some random strangers are inspired by your story if you just have the guts to open up and tell them your story. At first I was afraid to reach out and ask for help because many peoples beliefs are very different than mine but now that I have, it amazes me that I can look at the list of people who have financially or prayerfully supported me and see such diversity, there are people of all different religions, Christians and non Christians, believers and atheists, there are people of different races, different social classes and everything in-between. This diversity from my ‘support team’ is unreal and compels me to love without boarders and to see the innate goodness of every single human. Furthermore the diversity of the group of 40 young adults I will be traveling with inspires me, we all have one thing in common and that is to share unconditional love with every single soul we encounter, without questions, without judgement, without hesitation, with open minds and hearts. It is because of that simple commonality that all my fears of being inadequate in any way shape or form are silenced. I know that I am right where I need to be and that this journey isn’t something to fear, it has already begun and it is going to be filled with mistakes that are going to refine and mold me all along the way.
No matter who you are, if you have given me $1 or $1,000 if you have said a prayer on my behalf or for any member of my mission team if you have taken invaluable time out of our day to visit my blog, thank you from the bottom of my heart for being a part if my support team and thank you for being a part of my journey and allowing me to be a part of yours.
