One of the most worrisome attributes about the World Race process is expressing my thankfulness to my supporters (as I write this, I have a pile of thank you cards, waiting to be written, but the fact remains…).
With everyone who has donated to this journey, I never feel like I have adequate words to express my thankfulness. Especially for those who I don't know that well, who have given an obscene amount of money towards my account. I try to put it into words, but I'm almost embarrassed to say anything to these people, because I don't feel like any words can truly express my feelings of thankfulness.
At a recent benefit concert/date auction fundraiser, there was a group of young ladies who pooled together a great amount of money to give towards the World Race, which earned theman evening with me, and all I cold tell them was that I wished I could conjure up some tears, because I know it was a situation that normally would elicit that sort of emotional response, but the waterworks just wouldn't come… I've never been much of a crier, so this isn't far from the norm.
But something interesting happened to me recently. I had sent a support letter to a man who I didn't know terribly well; just someone who I had met through some mutual friends, and I knew he had a heart for missions.
When I checked into my fundraising account, he had given above and beyond anything I could have expected, so the next time I saw him, I tried to express how thankful I was, and how much it meant to me, and his only response was, "Hey, Thank You".
It took a while for this concept to fully process, but this is something that World Racers need to consider. As thankful as we are to our supporters, many of them are just as thankful to us for taking this year out of our lives to spread God's word to the nations, help the underprivileged, and fulfill the Great Commission.
This is not an opportunity that many people can take advantage of, and I know that there are many people, both young and old, who wish they would have known about an opportunity like this at a different point in their lives, so they could have taken advantage of it themselves.
We need to remember that there are still a lot of expectations on our shoulders. We are representing these individuals who have generously dipped into their own checking accounts to help us make this journey a reality; and they want us to make the most of our opportunities.
We've all been blessed in out own ways, and we as Christians are all expected to fulfill our role, either as "goers" or "senders". Embrace that role. And appreciate that every moment in our past has led us down a path to this time in our lives, where we now have this opportunity at our feet.
Stay thankful, and embrace the thankfulness of others.
