Sitting in my car, driving from home to work and work to home, I daydream of Nepal. Or Cambodia. Or Greece. I imagine the new landscapes I’ll see, the people I’ll get to love and serve, and what God will be teaching me then.
All good things.
But I’m not there yet.
I’m not in India or Swaziland or Macedonia, because God doesn’t have me there yet. I’ll be there in January, 8 months from now. Currently, He has me in Corvallis, Oregon with an amazing job, church, friends, and family. I could spend my time daydreaming about what’s to come, but what good does that do in my present situation? I have sights to see, people to love and serve, and things to learn from God right here and right now, in Corvallis.
God has me here, in this moment, to prepare me for the next stage in life.
And I don’t want to miss out.
He’s asking me to learn to “do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than [myself]” (Philippians 2:3). Before I can love people recklessly and serve others humbly across the nations, He’s asking me to learn those lessons for the next 8 months here with my friends and family. Going on the Race won’t magically change who I am or turn me into the most loving, selfless version of myself. So God’s asking me to practice now, and it’s time for me to learn.
Instead of choosing to avoid people’s emotional distress, I can ask what’s wrong and listen. Instead of watching a pointless show on Netflix at night, I can pray for my loved ones and my team and the nations and everything in between. Instead of rolling my eyes and putting myself in a bad mood in the process every time someone cuts me off in traffic, I can be more gracious, let them over, and realize I do similar things all the time.
If it were up to me, some days I would leave tomorrow. And others days I wish to postpone it forever.
Thank goodness God has perfect timing though and has asked me to go on the Race in January, because He has a lot more work to do to prepare my heart and mind to love others well.
So for now, I’ll sit in my car, driving from home to work and work to home. But instead of daydreaming about situations I’m not in yet, I’ll soak in the gorgeous mountains and trees, I’ll think of ways to love and serve my community, and I’ll pay attention to what God’s teaching me now.
As you can see, my fundraising bar has moved! A huge thank you to friends, strangers, and anonymous donors for moving me closer to my goal!
