You can be comfortable or courageous. But not both.
My whole life I have taken the safe route. I have often heard people say to take the road less traveled, but let’s be honest, I always took the road that had been paved and smoothed over with no bumps or rocks to stumble over. It was comfortable. It was safe. It gave me a false sense of security, as if nothing could possibly go wrong on that road. I thought I could be happy continuing down this beaten path. I thought I could make those I loved and respected proud by following the traveled road. But one day I found myself constantly pushing down a desire for something more. A desire to take that less traveled road. When I look back at my childhood, I had dreams of becoming the ‘perfect’ wife and mother. I remember looking at pictures in magazines with my grandmother of houses with big wrap around porches and telling her quite confidently that someday that would be me. That someday, I, too, would have that life. Now, I am sitting here in my comfortable home, with my comforting tea thinking about how I am about to take on the biggest adventure of my life. I am about to take that less traveled road that everyone has always talked about. I am about to throw comfort to the wind and live out a courageous life.
Two years ago, I heard about the World Race, and was instantly intrigued by an eleven month journey that would allow me to serve others, teach them about Jesus, and love on anyone and everyone I saw. However, I just as instantly decided this was not the trip for me when I read about the lack of comfort I would face along the way. Anyone who knows me, knows how much I enjoy the modern ‘essentials’ of life. A hot shower, the Chick-fil-A drive thru, and let’s not forget the white fluffy bed that sits directly in front of my television connected to Netflix. These are all things that make me smile and make me happy. But over the last two years, God has tugged at my heart in ways that have led me back to this trip. The thought of sleeping amongst people I don’t know no longer scares me. The idea of eating foods that I may or may not be able to pronounce no longer makes my stomach churn. The thought of leaving my family and friends no longer makes my heart ache. I am amazed at the ways God has changed and shaped my heart and mind into a place that was ready to recklessly abandon my established life here, and instead follow Him to wherever He leads. I pray that God would use me in ways that I could never imagine or hope for. I pray that He leads me into conversations and situations that stretch me and grow me and make me fall even more in love with who He is. But most importantly I hope that my words, my actions, and my heart would always show others who He is and that the love that He has for them, because in the end isn’t that what we are all here for?
