I don’t know what to expect.
I don’t. And as hard as I try, it is near impossible for me to imagine what the World Race is going to be like. I cannot envision where I will be living, who I will be meeting or even what we will be doing. My roommate Amy (who also happens to be joining the World Race) and I will speculate on what we will see and feel but at the end of the day, it’s the mystery that intrigues us most. We are eager for God to reveal what He has in store.
For there is really only one expectation I have that is tangible enough to verbalize; that God will open my eyes and soften my heart to His own identity.
It’s a common prayer for me to recite when thinking about others
Lord, open their eyes and soften their hearts to You.
For my friends that are seeking or struggling in faith or even unresponsive, I pray it fervently. But I have never thought to pray it in regards to myself. Not saying I don’t need the prayer myself, quite the opposite in fact, I am often distracted and weary to realize what God is trying to tell me or teach me. But more so, in my sinful subconscious I believe that I alone hold the control to whether or not my eyes are open and my heart is soft. And yet in that thought, I give myself way too much credit. For even though I have the responsibility to be paying attention to God’s work in my life, it is absolutely in His power to open my eyes and soften my heart. After all, Jesus gave the blind their sight while He was on this earth, all they needed to do was believe. (John 9)
What a beautiful thought? That in our belief we may be healed.
And so I continue to recite that prayer, for others as well as myself
Lord, open my eyes and soften my heart to You.
For there is so much in this world I long to see; the power of Christ and the hope it yields. And no, I don’t have to travel to 11 countries in order for that to happen, it can all start while I remain in Virginia to prepare for this radical endeavor. But in that longing to witness God’s work, I also find great depth in witnessing it across so many cultures and peoples with essentially no correlation between them.
What a wonderful way to know His supremacy amongst the earth?
Thus I pray…
