Well my friends, it has begun! I write to you today from a few thousand feet above the Pacific Ocean, headed to my first stop on the World Race…Manila, Philippines! My journey began 2 days ago (or was it 3?…I’m really confused on what day it is after spending 16 hours in a plane and crossing the International Date Line!) when I left Dallas for San Diego.
I have to say, this whole process has been completely surreal. I don’t think there is any way for my small human mind to grasp the enormity of the fact that I won’t be returning home to all my loved ones until August of next year. At the airport it almost felt like we were playing a really good game of charades or something. Or maybe I should say a really bad game of charades. Take your pick, either way I felt like (and maybe still do feel like) I was going on vacation, only to return in a weeks time.
I met up with my team (and both September squads) Monday night at LAX where we caught a red eye to Hong Kong. And I have to be honest, I think my rear region will stay in a semi-permanent flattened state for quite some time after that flight! Fifteen hours of sitting just doesn’t do the greatest things for your rump.
It wasn’t until I was on the plane, about 8 hours into the flight, wedged between two strangers, that the emotions of it all finally hit. On this side of 11 months, 11 months seems like a REALLY long time. I began to cry, trying my best not to snot on the people next to me, feeling sad and missing my loved ones.
That’s when God began to tap on my shoulder. “Remember me?,” He said. “Remember how I called you when you thought you had nothing, and then began to fill you with everything you needed to be satisfied? Remember how I took you out of a pit and set you on solid Rock? Remember how I have never failed to provide for you? Remember how I have met every need you had to make this trip possible?”
So I sat for a moment, caught my breath, blew my nose, and picked up the Rob Bell book in front of me. And here’s what I read…
” This is why gratitude is so central to the life God made us for. Until we can center ourselves on what we do have, on what God has given us, on the life we do get to live, we’ll constantly be looking for another life. That is why the word remember occurs again and again in the Bible. God commands His people to remember who they are, where they’ve been, what they’ve seen, and what’s been done for them. If we stop remembering, we may forget. And that’s where the trouble comes.“
So today, I am remembering. I am remembering the way all of you, my supporters and prayer partners, have poured yourselves out sacrificially so that I could follow the Lord’s call towards the World Race. I am remembering how blessed I am to have friends and a family that would drive all the way out to DFW to stand around with me for hours before my flight until I was ready to say goodbye. I am remembering that I serve a God who has never before let me down, a God who is the most exquisite storyteller and who is writing a story for my life that is better than I ever could have dreamed.
