Growing up in a Christian School, I was always asked the “are you a good Christian” questions. One of these questions that always stuck with me was “If Jesus would walk up to you right now and tell you to leave everything and follow Him, would you be able to do it?” Being the good little Christian girl that I thought I was, I always thought “yeah, of course I would!” but when it really came down to it, I doubted whether or not I would be as willing to give up everything as I thought I would be.
Up until college, I had been playing part of being a good Christian. Though I truly believed that there was a God and that Jesus was His Son, I didn’t fully understand why it should play a major role in my life. It wasn’t until the first month of college and getting involved in an on campus church, that I began to see what true faith really is. As I began growing and thinking of new ways to grow and be more proactive in my faith, the idea of missions crept into my mind.
Remembering a friend who had recently left on the World Race, I decided to look into it. Ever since then, God has planted the idea of the Race in my head. I got super excited and starting telling everyone I knew all about it. After explaining it to a couple of friends of mine, they began saying that the World Race sounded like it was created just for me. Apparently I give off the impression that traveling the world with just a backpack on my back and roughing it is pretty much my idea of a perfect year. Though this thought was awesome and I completely agreed with them, it also scared me because it solidified the thought that this was something that I was actually going to go through with.
After lots of crying, prayer and confusion, I finally gave into the thought that I was actually saying yes to Jesus’ command to leave everything and follow Him. Needless to say, I have had many moments of joyful tears because of the awe I have about God’s crazy plan for my life. Out of everyone that could possibly consider doing the World Race, He not only chose me but also created me to be the type of person that revels in the idea of living out of a tent for a year!
Now I’m proud to say that the little Christian School girl version of me didn’t lie when she said that she would say yes to Jesus’ calling. It’s been a crazy ride so far and will only get worse from here, but I know that it will be worth it and the God is going to do awesome things through me and for me.
