My alumni squad leaders will be leaving the team in a few weeks. This came as no surprise as it is customary for the squad leaders to only spend 5 months traveling with their teams. To maintain the structure of what a World Race squad looks like, our original/alumnni squad leaders are charged with raising up new squad leaders from the teams of people who started the race with me. We now have 4 new squad leaders who I am sure will lead W Squad with excellence. However, with these 4 being taken out of their previous teams, all of the teams needed to undergo changes which looked like new team leaders being raised up and teams being reshuffled.
I realized, a month or so ago, that my unwilligness to begin the race fully commited to the process had a negative impact on my growth and ability to thrive on the Race. I did not like my team and made no apologies about it. I was outspoken about not wanting an all girls team and was bewildered by the excitment that others had shown. I literally could not get how they could be so excited about living with people who they didn’t even know!
When it all boiled down, I was stubborn and afraid. Rather than trusting in God and the plan that He prepared for me, I chose to believe the lie that I couldn’t get along with a group of females and that I was too old to make any “real” new friends. As much as I wanted to love my team, The Daughters of the Vineyards (DOVs), I decided instead to put up walls and go through the motions. Besides … I didn’t come on this race to make friends, I came to make a difference.
God was unrelenting and refused to let me miss out on what He wanted to teach me and how He wanted to love me. He changed my heart. He showed me how to love my team and how much I needed them. He showed me that it is, in fact, possible to make lasting friendships with beautiful women whom I’d only known a couple months. Once I realized the mistake that I’d made, I regretted that I wasted so much time. I began serving my team, loving my team, and investing in my team, but deep down inside it never felt like enough. I never felt I’d be able to regain the time that I’d lost, and I struggled with wondering if it were even worth it (now I know it is ALWAYS worth it).
But God is a redeemer and a restorer!
Along with the change of having new squad leaders, I now have a new team. In many ways, I feel like my second World Race team is more than just a group put together to accomodate the changes made in our squad leadership. From where I stand, this new team is a chance to start out on the right foot. A chance to completely opt-in to the community that God has given me. A chance to love and receive love; trust and show myself trustworthy; invest in the growth of others and allow others to pour into my spirit as well.
I already miss my DOVs – SO MUCH!! No one will ever be able to replace them and I love all of the wonderful memories and experiences that we share. I’m forever grateful that God changed my heart, leaving me with just enough time to experience my team the way He originally intended.
However, I am moreso excited for this new gift that He has given me – the gift of a second chance. When my new team was revealed, I experienced the joy that most others had during the first time around. In the first couple of days of interacting and getting to know them, I was able to freely be myself – a freedom that felt amazing! During our first team time/team meeting I was open and honest about how I was feeling spiritually, physically, and emotionally. Not only that, but I gave them permission to hold me accountable in areas that I knew I could struggle in. I have a new perspective of what Godly community is supposed to look like when done right, and now I have the chance to get it right, the first time around.
With that being said, let me introduce my new team!!! (From left to right) Daphnee Sanon, Katherine Schemel, Crystal Canales, Ashley Metzger, Sierra Yingst, Lauren Budesky, and I are the members of team ROYAL SYMPHONY!
1 Peter 2:9-10 (MSG)
“But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted”
Isaiah 62 (MSG)
“Regarding Zion, I can’t keep my mouth shut, regarding Jerusalem, I can’t hold my tongue, Until her righteousness blazes down like the sun and her salvation flames up like a torch. Foreign countries will see your righteousness, and world leaders your glory. You’ll get a brand-new name straight from the mouth of God . You’ll be a stunning crown in the palm of God’s hand, a jeweled gold cup held high in the hand of your God. No more will anyone call you Rejected, and your country will no more be called Ruined. You’ll be called Hephzibah (My Delight), and your land Beulah (Married), Because God delights in you and your land will be like a wedding celebration. For as a young man marries his virgin bride, so your builder marries you, And as a bridegroom is happy in his bride, so your God is happy with you.”
This name reminds me that we are chosen, we are royalty, and we are God’s instruments created for the purpose of singing His praises and making His name known throughout the Earth. We are His bride, a creation that He delights in and rejoices over. He is our orchestrator, and we are His Royal Symphony. What an honor!!
These women are passionate and hungry for a move of God in our lives AND in the lives of those we minister to. They are intentional about going deeper in Christ and calling out the beautiful things that Christ wants to do in us. They have already begun to challenge me and help grow my faith and walk with God. I’m excited about doing life with them and getting to know them better. Thank God for these precious women who He put in my life specifically for this season. Thank God that His plan is perfect and nothing happens accidentally. Most of all, thank God for second chances.
(Our first team photo after finding my new team members based on the color secretly painted on each of our hands)
