Hello everyone!
Sorry it’s been a few days, my life was able to slow down for just a few hours today finally, so I thought I’d share a bit about what’s on my heart. You know I can’t really lie, I’ll just be completely honest right now. Sometimes I want to give up on everything, mainly working toward going on this mission trip. Okay….the word ‘sometimes’ is definitely an understatement. It’s pretty much all the time I feel this way. Here’s what I realized lately:
Nobody told me how lost, frustrated and confused I would be
Nobody told me how many times I’d truly want to give up
Nobody told me how many times I’d cry in one day, and how rare and beautiful it is when you go a day without crying
Nobody told me that 24 hours in a day really isn’t all that much…I need more hours in the day! lol
Nobody told me how little support I’d be getting from those closest to me
Nobody told me how big this task is that I’m taking upon myself, and that without God it really is impossible
Nobody told me how much I’d be leaving behind, how much I’d be giving up, or made me realize that going to 11 countries is going to be my reality, not just some dream I concocted, but what really lies ahead. It’s real.
I look at that list and it brings me to tears, because doing the Lord’s work is never easy, I know this. If it were it wouldn’t require leaning on His strength and goodness, I’d be doing it all by myself by my own strength. And I’m not the one that deserves the Glory here friends…that’s all for God! Amen! Jesus is the one who reminds me every day that when I want to give up or I lose my focus and passion for the World Race (or anything for that matter!), it is Him that has put that call and desire on my heart. I can’t just turn my back on that guys! As much as I want to take the easy way out, the way that’s comfortable and just say “this is too hard, there are plenty of people out there to go” I know in my heart that the time for me to go and serve is NOW! Esther 4:14 reads – “And who knows but that you were called FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS?” I can’t sit back and wait for an easier time or what I think is the “right” time. As much as I complain, ache, whine and try to deny what I feel deep down, I know and believe the Lord wants me to go through this now.
For many of you that have asked me “why go?” “Why not just send money or sponsor a child?” While those things are awesome and we surely need people doing that, it’s just not enough to always send money and to stay put. WE ARE NEEDED! THESE PEOPLE NEED US! They need to be held, to be loved, to see our faces and hear our words, to cry and laugh with them, to be fought for when no one else will fight for them.
This isn’t just an 11-month getaway that I’ll be partaking in, that is definitely something I want all of you to know. I know what lies ahead, I’ve heard so many stories: I am prepared to have things stolen from me, to face disease and sickness, to sleep on the ground for 335 days, to have limited rights and limited freedom, to see some of the most horrific images that will stay with me forever….I know how dangerous it will be. I was just reading from another racer’s blog and a statistic that many racers only make it halfway through their trip because they simply just cannot handle it anymore. I’m ready to take that risk and I am excited.
It’s not the easiest asking for support or asking friends and family to give up a few dollars to finance this trip, but when I know how much these people need Christ’s love and our help, it is worth EVERYTHING to me, and I hope it will mean something to you too. 🙂
As you continue to prayerfully consider supporting me, I’d like to leave you with this verse I read the other day:
“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:40
In Him,
Lizzy P
