When I was 17, I heard a small voice inside say that I would be the hands and feet to the nations one day. If you told me at 17 that I would find myself in Month 3 of 11 in this crazy thing called The World Race, I would have told you that you’re nuts.
It was a long journey to get there. Last week my world race mentor, Teresa, went with us to the Kindergarten!
(She even got in the swings for funzies! Isn’t she the cutest?!)
We began this journey together June 2016 at my very first training camp. She was supposed to be my World Race mentor with J squad. We all know how that turned out… even though my journey with J squad didn’t work out, Teresa maintained our journey together. She made an intentional effort to call once a month and purposefully pursue my heart, what the Lord was doing in my life, and where He was leading me to next.
(Teresa and I, January 2017)
I prayed that Teresa would be my mentor again for almost a year. It almost didn’t happen! But the Lord is full of surprises and good gifts for both of us! At the Kindergarten, during game time with the kids, she looks at me and says something along the lines of, “You have changed so much! You’ve had so much growth! I just look at you and can’t believe you’re the same person. ”
You want to know something? I don’t look in the mirror and see the same girl anymore either.
I see glory.
I see someone who is capable.
I see someone who is bold.
I see someone who is vulnerable.
I see someone who is teachable.
I see someone who is honorable.
I see someone who walks in integrity.
I see someone who strives to be better today than she was yesterday.
The unfathomable piece of the span of the last 8 years is that I never saw myself here. I never in my wildest dreams would have thought I would find myself in a year long journey around the globe sharing the gospel, watching healing happen through our hands in prayer, immersing ourselves in a new culture and country each month, serving missionaries every and anywhere in any capacity needed! I never had this place, here, this unexplainable journey on my list! But here makes perfect sense. Here is exactly where I should be, exactly where He planned for me to be. Every misstep, every miscalculation, every fall and failure led me to here. To the promise land. To the gift of His faithfulness!
As I lay in my bed, in Plovdiv, Bulgaria – i am just blown away. I am holding the gift of His promise to me!!!!! He got me here! And let me just tell you, here is stretching, scary, and so stinking beautiful. I find myself overwhelmed to tears because I am here. And I never, ever, want to forget this. I never, for a moment, want to ever lose sight of this journey, every triumph and every trench that was walked through to come to this place.
So I made sure I never would.
X
On my foot because every time I ever thought it was time to throw the towel in, I heard the Lord tell me, “Keep walking with me”.
The letter X is a symbol of His faithfulness to me. A symbol of a Father who keeps His promises. It is a symbol of a gift of 44 people to journey with me around the world, loving me and pushing me to be better. A symbol of a gift I was so undeserving of, but was granted graciously through my sweet Father! I look at that X and see every hill and valley the Lord walked with me through to get me here. I see every moment that stretched me to my limit, every moment that my tears clouded my vision, every donation, every “no”, every “yes”, every person who has supported me, every single step that for me to this beautiful place.
My here. This precious gift of faithfulness that I will never forget.
