Before I left on the World Race, I came across this passage that I knew in my heart was true and had experienced to some degree, but I've come to the place of understanding more completely how true it is because I've been living it day in and day out for the last 8 months.
If you're not ready to get wrecked and broken for Jesus . . . . .
Don't go on a missions trip.
If you're not ready to FEEL the depths of God's heart on a new level . . . . .
Don't go on a missions trip.
If you're not ready to be stretched and to grow . . . . .
Don't go on a missions trip.
If you're not ready to touch the untouchable, love the unlovable and sit with the poor and learn from them . . . . .
Don't go on a missions trip.
If you're not ready to be uncomfortable . . . . .
Don't go on a missions trip.
If you're not ready to lay down your life for the sake of others . . . . .
Really don't go on a missions trip.
The moment you go, your life will never be the same, your perspective will never be the same, your heart will never be the same . . . . .
So if you're content in where you are with Jesus . . . . . or with the status quo . . . . .
Really, don't go on a missions trip!
At some point during the last 8 months . . . . .
I have been wrecked and broken for Jesus.
I have FELT the depths of God's heart on new levels.
I have been stretched and have grown.
I have touched the untouchable, loved the unlovable, and sat with the poor and learned from them.
I have been uncomfortable more times than not.
I have laid down my life for the sake of others.
From the moment I left on the Race, my life changed, my perspective changed, and my heart changed.
I will NEVER be the same.
I will NEVER be the same.
I wasn't content in where I was with Jesus or with the status quo.
I am STILL NOT content in where I am with Jesus; I will always want more out of life.
As I prepared to leave on the Race, people would ask questions such as:
Are you scared, afraid, or fearful?
-OR-
What do you plan on doing when you get back?
What do you plan on doing when you get back?
Before leaving, these were hard questions to answer. They are still hard to answer, but the context of my answer looks a bit different.
Are you scared, afraid, or fearful:
I honestly wasn't scared or afraid of going on the Race because I choose to stand on a firm foundation built on the truth of God. I don't allow the enemy to intimidate me because the Lord has not given me a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind.
Part of me is worried about going HOME in the sense that I'm leaving the community of believers that has supported and surrounded me for the last 8 months. I am leaving behind the people that understand things like Feedback, ATL, and being obedient to the Spirit. I will reenter the culture of my church, my family and friends. I know I will have my WR family for the rest of my life, but the transition may take time. I'm not used to alone time; the only alone time I get is in the shower, or when we all put in our earbuds and ignore everything going on around us (sometimes the earbuds are in without any music playing, it's just an excuse to tune-out!).
In less than three months, I will enter a culture with drastically different demands and expectations than the world I've been living in. God's promise remains true – he is with me every step of the way. He will illuminate my path and his light will radiate through me.
Don't be afraid, for I am with you.
Don't be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.
Isaiah 41:10
What do you plan on doing when you get back?
My answer to this question is still fairly similar to what it was before I left – I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA! Over the last 8 months, I have become a completely different person! I am patiently waiting for God to reveal the next steps along the path of my life. Over the last 2 years he's been telling me that my plans and his plans are very different! The life my flesh desires is much different than the life I'm called to live.
My motto is and will always be to live life one day at a time; After all, I'm not guaranteed anything beyond today. I continually give up my plans in exchange for his because I know with a shadow of a doubt that God is good and has good plans for my life, plans that will far exceed anything I could possibly think or imagine.
My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.
John 10:10
