When I officially got accepted into The World Race, my first reaction was, “I can’t wait to tell everyone!” But telling people about my decision to go on a mission where I will be serving eleven countries in eleven months has been quite interesting, as I have been getting many different reactions.
I had expected people to be so excited and supportive of my decision to follow the Lord through this mission, which many were. But not everyone. Some people just don’t understand why, for example, I had someone ask me how much I was getting paid to do this. When I told them,” Nothing, I have to raise $17,000”, they said they wouldn’t do it, even if they were getting paid that much money. Haha! I’ve had people try to tell me no, they won’t allow it. What about ISIS? I’ve had people just start crying, and tell me how much they will miss me. Or ask me how I will be able to leave everyone and everything. Then I have the super encouraging people, that have helped me prepare for this journey in so many ways. I have been called brave, crazy, extraordinary, naïve, fearless, and selfish.
Well, truth is, I am none of these. As nice as it is to be called brave, and as good as it feels good to think that what I am doing makes me extraordinary, I don’t see myself as either of these. I’m just your average girl, trying to follow Jesus. Do I think this mission is a little crazy? YES! Do I have my own worries and fears? ABSOLUTELY! Am I going to miss my family and my friends? EXTREMELY! What am I going to do when I get back? I have NO IDEA!
But I trust God, and I trust he has a plan. God brought me here and he will see me through it. At times I do waiver in my faith, but then I remember the battles God has already fought and won for me, and all the love he has shown me. I think about all the miracles I read about in the bible, and all the miracles I have seen with my own eyes. Our god is the most powerful, and nothing that could ever come my way will ever be too big for him. Not saying I wont have bad days, or that it will be easy all the time, but I will have the comfort and strength of our loving father to lean on when it does get rocky. I think about all that Jesus has done for us and eleven months away from my loved ones, doesn’t feel like such a sacrifice anymore.
Isaiah 41:10 “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. “I read this over and over again. I picture my little self in his mighty right hand. Nothing can touch me and I am at complete peace. The Lord is smiling at me and I am completely delighted in him. I am so tiny compared to him, and so are all my worries, troubles, and fears. This helps me realize just how great our God is, and how endless his love is for us. I don’t need to be brave, because he already is for me.
So no, I am not crazy, naïve, selfish, or fearless. I am faithful, and I am holding onto his promises.
