Most of my reality checks (apparently I need them often) come while riding on a bus with natives and taking in the scenery. Many times on the Race, moments and days fly by – it all feels like a dream. I look back on past months and wonder if it really happened or if I imagined it all.
One of my first reality checks was in Nepal. I was headed into the city with some girls and grabbed a bus. As the green rolling foothills dotted with small fields passed by my window and I looked around seeing people I didn’t know and couldn’t communicate with, I realized this is my life. Traveling to a different country every month, living in community and working with ministry hosts is my ‘day-to-day’ life. Most people would love to do this, and I feel SO blessed to be able to be on the Race. However, I need a reality check often. Something to bring me back to the present and remind me what I am doing which this year of my life.
Whether it is a Tuk Tuk drive through the flatlands of India, an karaoke filled bus ride in Thailand, navigating the worst dirt road imaginable in Cambodia, seeing green hills pass in a crowded bus on the way to Swaziland, getting ‘bus’ sick on the second level of a double decker bus in South Africa or riding in a bus full of college students in Botswana, God uses those little moments to remind me who I am. I am a small piece in the big picture, but God still uses me. He is a magnificent artist who created everything, including the graceful giraffe and the baby elephants as well as you and me. The moments when I look out the window and see the plains of a country or beautiful sunsets, I am reminded of my home in west Texas.
The world is not as big as we think. Take a moment and enjoy the little things in life (music on the radio, the breeze, chips and salsa, hugs from those you love) and remember to stay grounded and connected to the One who created you.
