When I found out about the World Race I began to read stories from the racers that were out in different parts of the world. I read stories of miracles, struggles, and everyday life. All of which amazed me and touched my heart. They pushed me to grow in my faith, question what I believed, and made me wonder if there was a different way to live life. I feel like this is common in many of the people on the race now.
After following the January racers for so long, I found out that I was going to get a chance to cross paths with them in Bangkok. I was almost in shock. I was going to see these people, real live people. They weren’t going to be just blog pictures anymore, they were going to be moving around right in front of my very own eyes.
After joking around with some of my teammates about making World Race trading cards so that we could get autographs, I realized that many of us had given them celebrity status.
When I first met them, I was really nervous. I had no idea what to say to them. So, I thought it would be wise to listen to something I heard my dad joke about a few times, which is “it better to look stupid, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.” I sat there staring at them in awe and listening to them talk probably looking completely awkward.
After a while I got more comfortable and finally got the courage to talk to them. We talked about our families. We talked about our lives. They told me stories from the year. They laughed, joked around, and gave each other a hard time. I began to realize that they are very similar to me. If you know me, you might think this is kind of funny because you are probably still in shock that I was accepted to be part of this race. But it is pretty true, they are just people. They are very similar to the people on my September team and also similar to many people that I know back home.
The most amazing similarity I see in both racers and people back home is the desire for change and question if another world is possible. People that think like this have a God given desire to change the world. It is absolutely beautiful and I praise God for giving people this desire. But, for some reason changing the world is such a big task, a task that we often look at and quickly get overwhelmed with.
I was thinking about this and I realized that when I was teaching math, my students would often respond to a big math problem in the same way. If they couldn’t see the exact way to do a problem or do the problem in their heads, they would get overwhelmed and give up.
When I noticed this, another teacher told me about a question that I could ask my class to help them take a different approach with harder problems. The question was “How do you eat an elephant?” At first, kids would say, “That’s impossible! An elephant is too big to eat.” I would ask them to think about it for a little while. Then, usually someone in class would say, “One bite at a time?” which, of course, is the right answer. It is impossible to try to eat an elephant in one bite.
I also remember trying to start wrestling matches with my dad as I was growing up and he would say to me, “Don’t bite off more than you can chew.” Usually I would keep pushing it until he would get sick of it and then he would pull some crazy wrestling move on me and he would tie me in a knot. After all these years, I am finally learning that I can only handle so much. So, in relation to the elephant, if we try to take too big of a piece, it might be too much for us to handle. We might end up choking on it. The only way to take on such a huge task is to get out a fork and knife and start chipping away in small pieces. After a lot of time and dedication, the elephant disappears.
I believe that we can do the same thing if we want to change the world. If we try to take on the whole world or even too big of a piece, we are going to get overwhelmed or we are going to choke if we try. But if we can do it in small parts we will be okay. We can handle small parts. I love the words of mother Theresa “We can do no great things, only small things with great love.” It is the small things that add up to make something big that really makes the difference.
Before I was coming on the race, I read amazing stories about racers. They seemed to do amazing things that I could never do. When I was told that I was going to be part of the World Race, people told me I was amazing and they could never do what I am doing. After asking many racers, they were told the same thing as they were getting ready to leave on this journey. I just want you to know that we really are not that special. We are just a bunch of strange people that God has called to live life together for a while. We don’t have a clue how to do big, amazing things. But we desire to listen to God as he tells us to do the small things that make a difference and advance His kingdom. We want to learn how to love and how to serve just like so many people back home. We are just ordinary people and we are so far from figuring things out. We struggle to read the Bible as much as we know we should, we struggle to pray as much as we should, we are selfish sometimes, we get cranky, we make huge mistakes with each other, and we just don’t have the answers.
I am realizing that if I want the world to change I need to take Romans 12:2 to heart. “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” If I want the world to change I can’t continue to be like the world. I need to be different than the world. I need to do the small things that God calls me to that will set me apart from the world. I have to think and act differently, and this is a choice I have every day. I can choose to be of the world or of God.
I believe that a different world is possible. I believe that God wants to use ordinary people like you and me to make this world different. I know that I can only do my part, the part that He calls me to. I know that I can’t do it by my own strength, but I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I need Jesus to give me strength to do the small things, because even though they are small, they aren’t always easy. I want to be a vessel for Him.
I pray in the name of Jesus that You would strip me of anything that is not of You. I pray that You would take it all. You know this scares me and brings me more peace than anything I have ever asked for, but I trust You with my life. Jesus, renew my mind. Give me more of your heart. Mold me to be more like You. Jesus give me strength to be obedient. Jesus, I thank You for where You have brought me and I thank You for where You are taking me. I love you!
