I’ve been home for almost 3 full months. Adjusting has been like a roller coaster of emotions. Some days are great and I’m so happy to be home and driving and living semi-normally again, but then, some days I miss the race so much and the I long for the community and adventure. When people ask me about the race, it feels like it never happened, it’s just a distant dream that somehow impacted every aspect of my life.
I started school this past Monday (8/27/18) and adjusting to college life and academics again has proven so hard. The summer was breezy and relaxing and felt like a nice break I needed, but now college is work and making new friends and requires intentionality. Today I was sitting in one my many Bible classes, and my professor was talking about how the church should be a taste of heaven on earth. The church should be somewhere that people find peace and love and encouragement. The church and the community within it should be a glimpse of shalom, of the world after Jesus restores it to perfect peace.
As my professor said this, I realized that’s what is so hard about leaving the race. The race was a glimpse of shalom. The community we had was striving to look like Jesus every day. We were striving to make this world more peaceful by sharing the love of God with everyone we met. We were all after the same thing, knowing and showing our Savior to everyone.
So, naturally, coming back to a different culture where not everybody is really focused on the same thing and after a common goal, is hard. But, now its up to me to find that among the people of Liberty to cultivate another group all headed in the same direction.
I thank you all so much for the incredible support you have shown me not just while I was on my race, but the before and after of it. I thank you for asking me about my experience and listening. I thank you for your prayers, they mean so much to me. I thank you for being a glimpse of shalom.
