So when I was telling people about the World Race, there were a lot of questions like: “Where will you be going?” “What will you be doing?” and “How are you going to pay for that?”
But by far the most unique question I’ve encountered was from my roommate’s brother. I said I was going to go on a missions trip called the World Race. His response (in a half joking/half serious manner)—“What are you racing against?”
I gave some halfhearted answer that I barely remember about how it’s more about the journey than the competition. That’s why it’s called a “race.” But then I thought about it some more, and even ended up writing about it. In the end, what I came up with was the following poem that describes what I believe I am racing against. And not even just for the World Race, but in life.
Now I should warn, I am not a poet. I prefer fiction. But I do write poetry on occasion and find it fairly therapeutic. So without further ado:
Racing the World
I have an enemy
that is so much bigger
than I’ll ever be,
weighs so much more than I
could ever press against,
dives deeper than my frail body
could withstand.
My enemy is a calculating,
sly devil of a thing.
It makes my sister believe
she shouldn’t eat,
to be pretty.
It tempts my friend to think
sex with this one now
is better than waiting
for her forever man.
It leads an addict to say
just one more hit,
and things will get better.
It digs its talons in and
rips apart the hearts
of prostitutes and orphans
as they begin to believe
in their worthlessness.
I race against an enemy I
could never beat.
I cannot
overcome the world.
I have a God who is so
much bigger than me
and my enemy.
I have a God who weighs more
than the universe my enemy
is but a speck in.
I have a God who dives further still
into the hearts and souls of men,
and shakes out the world.
I race against an enemy I
could never beat.
But I take heart, because
he who strengthens me
has overcome the world.
