Graduation, sleeping under the stars, meeting my team, taking the biggest exam of my life, serving as my first high school huddle leader for FCA camp and eating way too much junk food, getting all four wisdom teeth out and eating no food, and having to say goodbye to some of my best friends has been the last three weeks of my life. Needless to say, life does not have a [pause] button in case you were wondering. Even though life seems to never slow down, Jesus has done and taught me a lot in these last few weeks. I have had ups and downs and breakthroughs and frustrations.
Instead of boring you with all of the minor details of my life, I’m just going to tell you the lessons learned.
1. I have some pretty amazing friends and family. The love and support I have received throughout preparing for this trip and finishing my last year of college has been overwhelming. I cannot thank everyone enough for everything they’ve done for me and how selflessly everyone has loved and taught me how to love.
2. Sleeping in the freezing cold rain with minimal food isn’t fun. However, being at training camp with all of your new squad mates and trying to figure out this thing called World Race with each other is. Meeting my new squad mates was definitely a highlight of these last few weeks and I can’t wait to do life with them next year!
3. God doesn’t want just part of me, but all of me. At training camp, I thought I had all of my stuff together and minimal issues, but boy was I wrong. Before I knew it I was crying a snotty mess onto a teammate and being prayed over by all of my squad mates. Jesus doesn’t want to just treat your symptoms, He wants to get to the root of your issues, dig them all up, and make you completely new. So let Him.
4. You can’t always get what you want. But if you try sometimes, you just might find you get what you need. Now I know the Rolling Stones are probably not the best to receive advice from, but these lyrics do hold some truth to them. Jesus has taught me that things will not always go my way. I am going to be stubborn and selfish and disappointed at times, but guess what, Jesus promises something better. Even though we may not always get what we want, Jesus will always give us what we need.
5. Life is a marathon, not a sprint. Life is not meant to be a competition with other believers. It is not meant to be rushed through in hopes of just making it to the next goal. It is meant to be a time of desperation, growth, pain, healing, and joy TOGETHER as a body of believers. (and I’ve run a marathon and felt every one of those things, so just trust me) Enjoy the start, enjoy the injuries, enjoy the water stops, and enjoy the finish. Embrace it all.
6. Don’t let the gas blow you up. Now this one requires a little explanation. But as I was leaving to go out of town to visit my cousin, I stopped to fill my truck up with gas. As I was sitting in my truck waiting for the gas to fill up, as most people do, a lady next to me start frantically telling me that gas is pouring out everywhere. Yes. The pump never clicked off, and therefore gas begins to overflow EVERYWHERE and is pouring out of my truck. Now of course my mind immediately reverts back to the movie Zoolander where they all died from a “freak gasoline accident” and I begin to think that myself and my truck are about to blow up. Thankfully the lady next to me assured me I’d be fine and even began to pray over me and for me to have a safe trip. Thank you Jesus.
All this to be said, even though I just got my wisdom teeth pulled and can’t even eat solid food yet, even though I’ve had to say goodbye to so many friends and family already, and even though my life so oftentimes seems to just be in shambles, I’m not going to let it blow up. Instead, I’m going to take it as a learning experience and good memories made.
When the stresses and challenges of life seem to be overflowing out of you, how are you going to respond? Will you just give up and throw in the towel, or will you get back in the game of life? You don’t have to press rewind, [pause], or fast forward; but instead, just press play and enjoy.
