“What just happened? It’s the beginning of month 6–the middle of the World Race. This can’t be real.”
These where the exact thoughts I had this afternoon as I processed this reality with the better half of my little Furious Love team, Allison. I can not believe that this is where the Lord has lead me. After two years of praying and talking about doing the race, here I am in the middle of it, doing this thing!
There are moments in life when you realize just how special the season is that you are in. You can feel the difference and experience the magic and bliss of where you are. You know that moments like these are few and far between and that big things are going to happen, and that just maybe, there will never be one exactly like it again. But even though you know all these things, it’s still easy to slip into a routine. It’s easy to get annoyed with the people around you or even wish that you had the comforts of home. The race is an adventure, but it’s also a fight. And your not just fighting the urges to be comfortable, or be home. You’re fighting for your squad mates. Ultimately, You’re fighting for your growth in the LORD.
I may never be in the midst of such a beautiful community again and I want to take every opportunity I can to invest in my squad and my ministry contact. I want to invest in my relationship with God. I want to be able to focus on the now, not what it’s going to look like when I get home. Not what kind of job I will have or who I will have become. I want to love my squad mates deeply and serve them. I want to appreciate the fact that I get to spend my days with these crazies because there will never be another moment in my life where I am surrounded by this community.
So, I choose to strive past this middle hump. I choose to go deeper and not allow the sometimes mundane things of this race to keep me from loving until it hurts and serving without a need for return. I want to enjoy every moment, from playing with kids, to doing women’s devotional, teaching, or sharing the gospel door to door. I want all the hard things because I want to practice choosing joy. I want to take in the moments of being uncomfortable because I know they are refining me and bringing me closer to God. I want to leave this race knowing that I didn’t stop fighting. I stayed present and I loved until it hurt and then some.
So as I challenge myself, I challenge you! What season are you in, and how can you choose to stay present and invest to the fullest? How can you love the people around you and serve them? There is no guarantee they will make it to your next season. Choose to press into the season you are in instead of trying to start the next one.
