From the night we left the US until today, I have been on the Race for 158 days.
That means I have 160 days to go until I’m on a plane going home, done with the Race.
What?
In 1 day I will be at the halfway mark of the Race. We have received our last flight information, we have to think about making decisions for going home.
Already? It doesn’t seem real. I feel like I’ve been away for so long, but the beginning was only 5 1/2 months ago.
The Race is nothing like I had imagined it, and so much better than I thought. But what I didn’t expect, are those moments when I forget that I’m on the World Race, or even 13,000 miles away from home. My life has felt pretty normal most days.
And I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not.
A few days ago I was sitting at the kitchen table, eating a sandwich, and writing to my sponsor child online. I look out the window and it just hits me, “I’m in Thailand. I’m doing normal, everyday things I would do back in the US, but I’m in Thailand.”
Maybe it isn’t normal at all, actually I know it’s not.
It’s not normal to build a connection with kids who don’t even know what you’re saying. It’s not normal to live with 28 other people in one big house and do work together. It’s not normal to live at a conference center in a town of 607. It’s not normal to hop on the back of a random person’s motorbike and trust he gets you to ministry safely. Everyday. It’s not normal to become fast friends with locals. It’s not normal to cross the street in heavy Asia traffic coming at you. It’s not normal to just move in with different people every month. It’s not normal to live out of a backpack. It’s not normal to help paint a school for trafficked children. It’s not normal to jump from country to country because God told you to. It’s not everyday that you wake up to see the sunrise over Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Vietnam, Cambodia, or hike a mountain at 5:30 a.m. to see God’s glory shine over Thailand.
It’s not normal, sometimes I let it get too normal and I forget just where I am and how my life currently is. Sometimes I get complacent when I should really be in awe that I’m eating authentic food, working and loving people around the world, my passport getting all stamped up, learning words in so many different languages, and doing it all with people who are such good friends now, who were complete strangers this time last year.
It’s okay to feel normal about some things, like going to the grocery store, going to the mall, going to church, hanging out with your teammates, calling a taxi, getting pizza, even just about yourself.
I’m just living my life with more purpose, pursuing God, making new friends, in 11+ other countries.
In just 5 1/2 short months, I went from initial culture shock of Ukraine to “this is typical Asia.” And who knows what my thought process will be like in 2 months when I’m settling in to South America.
You learn, you grow, you expect difference. It’s there in different forms.
When God has called you to live such a big life, don’t get complacent in it. Your calling is amazing, and once you forget that, you forget your purpose and lose perspective. Let your life be normal in the most abnormal ways. If you are a Racer right now, it’s gonna get to a point where you’re tired, and it’s just another month and another border crossing, and that’s the time you forget how amazing it is that you get to be in the country of wherever, it’s easy just to sit back at home and not have the motivation to go out and explore. It’s easy to go on by and forget that God called you for this specific time and place and these are moments that if you lose them, you will never get back. Really wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, do it to the fullest.
Dream big with God and live out those adventures together!
