Now that I’ve been accepted and have begun to prepare for the race, I have been thinking a lot about why I’ve even decided to do this. And, honestly, I doubt it a lot. Sometimes, I think about how much I would also enjoy staying here, with my friends and church and community and job. And I think that that would be good, in some ways, too.
Because leaving is not about saying that my life here isn’t good enough. Its actually the opposite. I am excited about what I’ve been investing in and doing, where I’m at.
Then comes the question again, why go?
The first time I really, seriously thought about going on the World Race, I was in Prague. By myself, travelling. It was a great trip. I got to hang out with friends, travel, see new cultures, visit. But, I was struck by how selfish it became. I’m not undermining or discrediting travelling, by yourself or with friends. I think it’s great and if you get the chance, you should do it. But, in being there, and wanting to continue seeing new countries and new places, I wanted to do it differently. I wanted to be able to give and receive from a culture and a country, not just observe it. I wanted to go beyond just tourist attractions and observation areas and interact with what is out there. And that just wasn’t happening in the way I was travelling.
A huge part of this is opportunity. Right now, I have the time and the ability to leave everything for a year. And most life advice I’ve received is that that won’t last so long. So, I want to take advantage of it.
But, the biggest reason I want to go, is to learn. To grow and shift and be somewhere where I know very little. I want to be able to go into situations that are not what I’m used to and challenging in order to change how I react and how I live. To allow my faith to grow and to be able to serve better. I want to be able to come back and be more mature and more effective in what I’m doing now, not necessarily change it all (though I might).
I’m sure that this will change. That there will be more or slightly different things I’ll seek from this trip and I lead up to it. And that what I actually take from it, what God actually does, will also look very different. But, for me, this is a start and a purpose to the race.
