If you guys didn’t know already, the past month looked a bit different for me than what was originally planned (and that plan looked different than the original original plan, but that’s what life in the midst of a pandemic is like I guess).
We all left the AIM base for thanksgiving with our families in November. The plan was to be home for a week then come back to Georgia for two weeks of more teachings, a squad debrief, and a christmas party!
Unfortunately, a couple days after I got home I found out that a lot of my squad was testing positive for covid. So I went out and got tested too… and it came back positive. Because of our little outbreak (which we’re still not quite sure how that happened, since we were all living in a bubble… oh well), we had to stay home for all of December with the plan of us all recovering and being ready to launch for COSTA RICA at the beginning of the new year (which worked by the way, but more on that later :).
So my time in Georgia is officially behind me, which is bittersweet. I’m so so so excited for what lies ahead, but my life at the AIM base will always be special to me. I learned a lot there, and I’d like if my life outside of Georgia still looked similar to my life there. So here’s a list of things I did in Georgia that I’d like to keep doing. Who knows, maybe there’s a habit you’d like to pick up too!
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Sabbath – I could write a whole blog on this (and I might, who knows), but I’ll try to keep it short for now. Every weekend in Georgia, we had sabbath. This is different from just having a set day where you go to church. On saturday, we had two hours of complete silence and solitude across the campus. The idea of this scared me at first, but it ended up being one of the best things. I’d spend it catching up on rest and talking to God. The rest of the weekend there was no set plan or schedule, other than squad church sunday morning. Having a day completely set aside for rest and spending time with God was amazing and really set me up for a great week. It’s worth giving up a day full of activities to really live a slower life, even if it’s just once a week. God knew what he was doing when he rested on the seventh day.
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Interruptable lifestyle – This one kind of goes along with the first one, but in Georgia, and just on the world race in general, there’s no set plan, ever. You have a general idea of what you might be doing at any given time, but it can change at any second. You have to learn to roll with the punches. This didn’t really bother me because I’ve always been a go with the flow type person. But being in Georgia really helped me see the beauty in this. Usually when plans change, it ends being for the better. Its shows how much greater God’s plans are than our own, and it teaches you to be content with whatever comes your way.
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Abandonment – This was a big one. God asked me, and the rest of my squad mates, to let go of a lot of comforts during this past season. Letting go of a comfy bed and living in a tent in the woods, letting go of a real shower and taking a bucket shower (and never really feeling clean), or even letting go of control over what you eat. It was hard, but there was so much growth, and it showed me what I actually need. I let go of a lot things I thought I needed, but I was honestly happier and more content then I’ve been in a while. When God asks you to give up something, it’s for a reason.
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Logging Off – I feel like this is probably obvious, but from breakfast to dinner every day in Georgia, I didn’t have my phone, and it was amazing. I ended up not even using my phone that much when I had it in the evening. Obviously, I love posting about what I’m doing on the race and getting to keep up with my family was such a blessing. But logging off for most of the day was so good for me mentally and spiritually, and honestly freed up my time and mind so much.
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Daily Devos – Last but not least, every morning after breakfast we had an hour set aside for devos. I was so thankful that this was part of our schedule, because a daily morning devotion time was something I’ve always wanted to get into the habit of but struggled with. My devos looked different day to day because I’ve been learning to just come and be in the Lord’s presence instead of just doing something to check off a box on a to do list. I noticed the difference in my day when I didn’t get to do them and I definitely felt it when I fell out of the habit when I was home. Next time, I hope I keep this up, because it’s such a great way to start my day.
There you have it! Five things I did in Georgia that I’d like to keep doing when im home, In COSTA RICA (woo hoo), and wherever God takes me next!
