How this phase in the journey started…
Let’s go back…
I was having a hard time with being so old and being single, I was caught in the snare of compare…
(March-April) Because of this… as well as my tendency to play the compare game I decided at the beginning of 2017 I would go without social media for a month. I focused on spending the time I would normally spend on Facebook and Instagram comparing to others, to focusing on what the Lord wants of me. I bought multiple books on relationships, Christian singleness books, even books on praying and preparing for your future husband. Which is ironic that I got a book about praying for your future husband, when I was struggling with being single… But believe me when you start praying for these very personal things for someone else, it becomes very humbling. You start to think I’ll pray for them about this, and then realize it is something I need to work on too; and I hoped that someone was praying over me for these as well. In looking over these books, studying the Bible, praying, and spending one on one time with the Lord. He started to open my heart and my eyes. He opened my heart to realize that MY HOPE, MY JOY, MY FUTURE, MY IDENTITY is in CHRIST! As the song goes In Christ Alone…
Not in who I’m dating, married too, who my kids are, who my dog is, who I’m related too, how old I am….
After really facing this Identity Issue, the Lord led me to realize that I DO have value and I CAN be used by God!
I prayed “here I am Lord use me, show me, direct my paths in what would you have me do…”
I prayed and I prayed and I prayed…
One day I was at lunch and I remember this couple that I had meet at a garage sale. (I love garage sales…something about the hunt for treasure and deals you didn’t know you needed…) I remember them mentioning having to sell as much as they could because they were going on this mission trip. They mentioned going to 11 different countries in 11 months, listing off these countries all over the world. At the time, I thought it was cool and different, I remember thinking that’s a little weird going all over, only being a month in one location… But overall, just let it go and went on with my own little life… Here I am at lunch, remembering this couple, and I remember the name of the program and I look them up on the World Race Blog. I remember thinking God is doing amazing things in this couples’ lives and working in the people they are coming in contact with… Then I start doing more research on what the World Race is…
At this time I began to feel the Lord leading me to do something in the mission field… I’m researching other opportunities, really asking “what do you want me to do Lord?” I continue to watch videos and look up information on the World Race but at the same time my worldly logic, which wants to be in control of the situation/future, is pushing me to deny it. To deny this invitation… All I can think of is this is not what I had planned Lord, I said use me, but really… Don’t you remember, us Garrett’s we aren’t campers, remember… I’m finally content with my job, the home church is going great, I have great friends, I’ve fully adjusted to Charleston, next year is the year that we talk about a house for the future located here… All of these very logical things, that are all vary valid points, are brought up. As well as some very illogically things as well…I’ll save some of those for another story!
So in this process the more I’m seeking the answers from the Lord, the more and more I’m hearing about this program, not only from my own research online, but also from my friends, who know people who have gone on this trip, who know people who are currently on this trip, my roommate knew someone who was about to go on one of these trips… I feel like everywhere I look is this program…
After many months of struggling with the answer I was continuing to receive…. GO…
GO Mallory… GO on the World Race… In many different ways, I got this affirmation, from prayers, to preaching, to a pair of shoes… It’s amazing how the Lord Works…
I had finally come to terms with,
Yes you are going on the World Race…
You need to Trust the Lord and do this…
GO…
“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, ” All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” ” Matthew 28:19 (KJV)
And so I
