It was January 2015 and I sat at my desk during my planning period dreaming of travel instead of grading papers. Anytime work would get difficult (which in your first year of teaching is a lot), I would revert to dreaming about the next new place I could visit. Many times I had heard the phrase, “If you’re unhappy in your work, find a new job.” While this was said out of love for my well being, I have found that it is not always the right answer. Hearing this advice, I decided to begin thinking about a job change. The position I was in had created an emotional and physical strain that took a toll on my health and I had no peace from the Lord about staying there. Additionally, Matt and I knew that the Lord was calling us to focus on missions for a time and we so longed for the excitement of traveling together and seeing more of the world before children become a part of our family. All of these reasons and more led us to apply to the World Race, ready for our life to be lived out in new and adventurous ways! After being accepted, we had many friends tell us that they were excited for us and jealous that we would get to travel so much. As we began to travel, we took pride in the fact that we had so many stamps on our passports and so many countries to tag on our Facebook pictures.
Now, having traveled to 7 countries in the past five months, I have come to the realization that many millennials do not want to face, the glorification of wanderlust is a lie.
Wanderlust is by definition, “a strong desire to travel”. It is literally lusting over the ability to wander. Our generation is always looking for the next best thing, the next best technology, the next best TV show, the next best adventure, the next best job. While looking forward to the future and planning ahead is by no means wrong in itself, we can so easily miss out on the opportunities of the present by focusing our thoughts on the possibility of life being so much better in the future, if we can just make it there.
The world is an amazing place and we are so blessed to be able to experience so much of it. Most of the people we meet have rarely gone outside their home country and for a long time I honestly felt bad for them. However, after talking with a wise cab driver in South Africa, I believe many of them do not feel bad for themselves. In response to the question, “Do you enjoy living here and enjoy your job?” The older driver responded, “This is the only place I can live right now and the only job I have. It is my business and my home. So even though I may not enjoy work every day, I choose to enjoy life because it is the only one I will have.” He, like Paul, has learned the secret to being content.
“I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.” – Phil. 4:12
Throughout the race, God has taught me that the secret of being content is my attitude. There are times on the race like this month in Lesotho, where I am being served incredible food, looking at an incredible view, and getting to do rewarding work alongside some of the kindest people I have ever met. Then there are other times where I am fed little food and doing grueling work for individuals that do not show any gratitude for it. The one thing that will never change no matter where I go or what I do is my ability to choose my attitude.
So if you are like I was, living in a situation that you wish were different, remember that a change of scenery or a new, exciting experience will not fix the heart. If your attitude is not grateful and content, you will always want what you can’t have.
Please be in prayer for us and our squad as this is the point in the race where many of us have begun to get homesick. We realize that no matter how badly we want Chick-Fil-A or to be with family, it is not something we can have and that even if we were given it, it would not quench the true thirst that we have for a new experience with God. So we do our best to quench our thirst by leaning on him, learning more about him, and living out of the abundance of love he has given us. We don’t get it right every day and we still fight wanderlust to be home, wandering around places we know, but learning to love God and the people around us as best we can helps us to stay focused.
We just watched the movie “The Giver” and the main character perfectly describes our feelings about seeing more of the world. He says
“I had learned that knowing what something is, is not the same as knowing how something feels. I got lost, the good kind of lost. I saw sights and sounds I had no words to describe. Faces with flesh of all different colors. I felt so alive. This was forbidden? I didn’t know what to think, what to believe. Have faith the giver told me. He said faith that was seeing beyond. He compared it to he wind. Something felt and not seen.”
The more we thought about this, the more we realized that you can get “the good kind of lost” wherever you are. So don’t get caught up in the mundane routine of every day, instead focus on the beauty of the world around you, be grateful for all that you have, and have faith!
