I apologize for not having written a blog in 2 months. My mind has been crammed with so many random thoughts, that putting those thoughts into words has been difficult.
Well…here I am…less than 2 weeks from leaving my home, family, friends, and comfortable life, for THE WORLD RACE! Before leaving though, I have a TO DO list to tackle, GOODBYES to say, and 11 months to PACK into a 70-liter backpack.
I can't help but think about when Jesus called the first disciples…
18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him. -Matthew 4:18-20
The last two months (since Training Camp) have been a rollercoaster of emotions, prayer, confusion, excitement… I haven't doubted going on this mission, but I have had to face the fact that I am leaving…for 11 months…traveling the world…how crazy awesome is that!!??!
The thing is though…when I have a lot to do I tend to get so overwhelmed that I want to run away from the long TO DO list. The current TO DO list before leaving grows every day – mostly small tasks to keep my stuff out of the way & organized while I'm gone. BLAH!
Back to the scripture…see when Jesus called the disciples, he didn't say: "Go home, say goodbye to your friends & family, organize your belongings, and then meet me back on the pier at 5:30". NOPE…he simply said, "COME FOLLOW ME". There was no TO DO list…they simply dropped what they were doing and followed. As racers, this is exactly what we are doing…dropping our current lives and following Jesus' calling on our lives.
However…we also live in a society where it makes more sense for us to organize our lives BEFORE dropping everything for a grand adventure. And as usual God doesn't go with the flow of our society, AND he does give us grace to be the silly humans that we are. So, I WILL accomplish the tasks on my TO DO list, say GOODBYE, PACK my belongings, and GO FOLLOW HIM!
The idea of leaving…with no return home, for 11 months, is a little scary, but also exciting! I'll admit that saying "Goodbye" is not something I enjoy, so I'd rather just say "SEE YOU LATER"! I am blessed to have a support system of family and friends who are as excited about this mission as I am. God has given me such amazing people to encourage, love, and advise me through this journey, and that's why saying "See you later" is that much harder. However, I know without a doubt that being a disciple of Christ from January-November 2012 is exactly what I'm supposed to be doing. There's a freedom in the peace of knowing that I am following God's will and I'm on a path to fulfilling God's purpose for my life!
In conclusion…these are the rambling, crazy thoughts that have been clouding my mind for a couple of months. I am so pumped up to be going, that sometimes words can't express the excitement that's bubbling up inside of me! There are so many people who need to be loved, who need hope, who need Jesus Christ, and I am honored to be so worthy that God has chosen me to go out into the world to share this with His desperate, broken, sad, lonely, enslaved children.
Please continue to pray for me and my amazing D squad!
MUCH LOVE!!!
