For the entire month of May, I’m partnering with Keys for The Journey; go to keysforthejourney.com and choose my name (Janiece Odom) at checkout to support my World Race journey while getting a super cool piece of jewelry.
When I got my partnership email from Keys for the Journey with details; I was so thrilled with the opportunity to be a part of their mission as much as I was my own. When I was ordering my own Key, my mind could not think of a word…so I made a bold step and chose the “Ask For A Word” key and put in what I wanted the necklace to look like and then I waited. Not long after placing the order; I got my necklace in the mail.
New Life.
Those were the words stamped on my Key.
I was a little confused at first…I mean, I’ve been a Christian for a long time and that’s the first thing I think about when I hear those words. But I began to think about it a little more; New Life. What else does that mean?
Yes, I’ve ‘been a Christian’ for a long time but have I been giving everything to God? Have I allowed Him to take full control of my life? Have I lived with reckless abandon and not carrying about what others think of me?
The short version? No, I haven’t. I’ve been living in fear; fear of rejection, fear of not fitting in, fear of failure, fear of losing everyone and everything. Giving into the busy lifestyle that so many of us put before our relationship with the one who gave us life; God.
God has called me to do the World Race. This isn’t something I chose to do on a whim. I put a lot of thought, hesitation, prayer, fear, and research into this decision. I wanted to do it but I was afraid that it was something I just wanted to do and the excitement would die after a month or two; but after praying and talking to a World Race Alumni, I knew it was God calling me.
I believe that God is using this journey to pull me into Him, allowing me to fully rely and trust in Him (It’s easy to say you trust Him, until you learn what real trust looks like). He is using this time to prepare and strengthen me for the rest of my life while using me and my incredible squad to bring the Kingdom to the countries we’re visiting.
Maybe I don’t know exactly what He has in store for me. Maybe I don’t understand why sometimes preparing to go is hard while other times I’m counting down the days. Maybe I don’t see all the things He’s going to do with, through and to us but I do know that for the first time (probably ever); the unknown doesn’t frighten me. It’s exciting because I know God has me.
I don’t fully understand how the words New Life apply to me just yet; but I will and it will be beautiful!
