October 24, 2010 – My friend Diane spoke at church today about her call from God to the mission field, inspiring me to think back on my journey with God and how The World Race came about.
I fully surrendered to God the day my Dad passed away. My life would never be the same and it wasn’t only because my Dad was no longer with us on earth. The overwhelming peace I felt on that monumental occasion was unexplainable, confirming it could only be from God. My outlook on life has never been the same since. My thoughts and desires shifted. If anyone has lost a loved one they can probably relate to how your life and perspective change permanently. For me, I questioned what my life had become. The people I spent my time with, the activities I participated in, the lies I told myself, the “things” I strived for – material and mental. Looking back now my old life was like being on a hamster wheel, constantly seeking and never finding. Just worn out and never fulfilled.
Inviting Christ into my life at that time, sprouted from seeds God planted and watered much earlier in my life. I grew up thinking I was a Christian but I now know I wasn’t, and I didn’t grow up in a “Christian” home. My family would sometimes attend church on holidays but my exposure to Christian living was through friend’s families. These Christian families, like the Johnson’s, had a huge impact on my life by simply being different/set apart. While I was in college, my parents and brother recommitted their lives to Christ and started attending church regularly. Over the course of several years God was speaking to me through my believing brother/roommate and trips home to Sacramento where I experienced my parents loving church community. These wonderful examples of Christ followers helped me open my heart to the Truth. By the time my Dad passed, I was already connected with a church I loved. I had been attending services at Journey of Faith in Manhattan Beach for over a year consistently and was ready to expand my involvement and grow my faith with fellowship. At the time I didn’t know what fellowship looked like but God continued to surround me with a wonderful community and appointed some awesome people in my life. Three standouts include Andrea DeBauche, Christine Metzler and Nickki Peavey. They’ve all had a HUGE influence on my life. They’ve all inspired my hunger for God’s Word with their incredibe knowledge of scripture. They’ve all been amazing sounding boards, helping to direct and guide me along my journey. They’ve all been faithful friends blessing me with constant love, encouragement and accountability. They are some of the most Godly women I know and I’m forever grateful that God put them in my life.
My first Women’s Bible Study at Journey of Faith in early 2009 on the “Fruit of the Spirit” included lots of sharing about my dissatisfaction with my career, a desire to live a more simple life so wonderfully modeled by my brother, and a hunger for radical transformation. I’ve always felt a little uneasy about the purpose of my job and not completely sure I was where God wanted me. I was always trying to find the answer to “What is God’s will for my life?”, but only ended up finding frustration. At the time I never thought my angst over my career and overly comfortable lifestyle was a call to the mission field but now I can clearly see God was teaching me patience and growing me spiritually.
Now two years later, I see all the ways God has guided me to The World Race. A mission trip to Kenya and then India, revealed my heart for other cultures and abolished any fears I had about traveling, especially to third world countries. Books like Crazy Love, and the most recent, Radical, have inspired me to get out of my comfort zone to experience God’s full blessing which includes being a blessing to others. A conversation at a Women of Faith weekend with friends Jami, Allison and Nickki about overcoming fears led me to apply for this life changing journey. And finally a tearful conversation with my Mom about how to know when the Holy Spirit speaks, confirmed my commitment to His call.
So I’ve come a long way to daily trusting in God’s divine providence, ready and willing to be His instrument to transform hurting and lost hearts with the love of Jesus Christ. I'm no longer asking God "What is Your Will for my life?", but instead "How can my life be used to accomplish Your Will?"
To whom much is given, much is expected. Luke 12:48
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2
And who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this? Esther 4:14
