I think one of the biggest challenges in life is living in the moment. How much time do we spend dwelling on a better tomorrow? Maybe at work you think, “if I only had a different position or job then I would be satisfied.” Or, “when I finish school I will have so much freedom and can get my life started.” Or, “If only the economy would turn around things would better.”
I have been on the Race for over 6 months and am past the half way point. Things that weren’t really a big deal, like sharing a room with people or eating foreign food everyday, are becoming a point of frustration. Now my thoughts are often, “If only I were done with this trip I would be able to get my personal time alone and eat food that I choose and like.”
I catch myself hoping for a better future instead of fully enjoying the given present. It is great and necessary to have a hope and expectancy for the future but the most rewarding thing is not striving for future goals but enjoying present opportunities. We become Fully Alive when we become Fully Present. And we are fully present when we embrace all circumstances, whether they are difficult, annoying, or unchangeable, as opportunities to experience life and grow and be refined into a more beautiful creation. Right? Because it is not what happens to you that matters but how you respond that makes the difference.
I am on the trip of a lifetime. A trip filled with God, adventure and culture. Yet I still struggle to be fully present. I struggled to want to be in Kolkata, India when I was annoyed with the congestion, pollution, noise, and inconvenience of the city. I struggled to want to be with my team when I was annoyed by their habits, personalities, or just seeing them 24/7. And I struggled to even want to be on this trip at all when I was puking my guts out and visiting the porcelain pit every 10 minutes from bacteria in food I don’t even like.
It was here that I found one of my biggest challenges of the Race. Not the food, poverty, ministry, living conditions, or teammates but my attitude. My challenge was and is to choose to see the best in every situation. To see all points of frustration as opportunities to grow my character and refine my spirit. After all I prayed at the beginning of this trip that God would stretch, strengthen, and develop me into a crazy man of God so I should be thankful for him answering my prayer.
“Whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.” – James 1: 2-4
