Adventures WorldRace SethBarnes Sponsorship Giving

| by archiveworldraceblogs

Oh, the little lessons God teaches us or me…

Last summer at the cabin with my family a picture was taken of me and my sisters. I was in the middle of two beautiful ladies. After looking at it on the camera I noticed a black line in between my eyebrows. What was this? I zoomed in to notice it was a shadow catching on a deep… ok this is hard for me… give me a sec….
(deep breath) it was a Wra – Wra – WRINKLE!

Yes, it’s true. It was an actual wrinkle. I knew it was there, but never had it stood out so much. It really began to bother me. I usually squint or furl my eyebrows with the sun, when thinking, at a computer or even driving. So now what do I do about this HUGE problem in my life (over exaggerating). Well, this may sound weird, because it is. I started to put a piece of tape in the middle of my eyebrows to stretch out the wrinkle. When I would furl my brows it would catch up on the tape and my wrinkle wouldn’t crease. This was only in the privacy of my home or sometimes around my friends. They definitely thought I was crazy… I know I am.

Enough was enough I decided to take care of this problem. Botox. That’s the answer.

I tried and I loved it… or love it.

I knew I wanted to get it done before I left for the race because I was trying to think ahead to Africa and being in the sun squinting. I thought I could be covered and take care of it because it lasts about 6 months. So now I am in month 7 (was 6 when I wrote this) and in Africa… Here’s what’s up.

I always wear sunglasses. One to try and not squint and two cuz they’re cute.   Before arriving “in the bush” in Mozambique I tried to find a second pair of sunglasses “just in case” mine break I would be covered and have a back up pair. For some reason I never ended up getting a second pair. Probably cuz I didn’t have my own money to use (credit cards stolen and not yet replaced) and didn’t want to be a hassle to anyone. So I never found a pair so I was determined to take really good care of the ones I had. Well… it’s obvious what happened. They broke. They were on the top of my head when I walked into a small adobe type home and my head hit the low doorway and crack! They broke in two pieces CRAP! I did think to myself ok, I’m fine… I’ll tape them up and they’ll get by till debrief. A little while later I ended up taping them with electrical tape so it wasn’t that bad, they were black and the tape was black and I would survive. So there I sit with taped up sunglasses.

            About 2 hours with my sunglasses I notice my eye is red and goopy. Not sure what was going on I went to just take out my contacts and put new ones in or maybe even just give my eyes a rest for the day. I searched around for new contacts and couldn’t find any. We left some things behind at a location cuz we didn’t need to bring a lot to “the bush” and contacts must have been in something I left behind. Here I am in the bush of Africa with my glasses on in the sun having to deal with squinting and this dang wrinkle. 

Are you following where all this is going?  

God is in control. This is little lesson that He wanted to teach me in control. No matter how hard we try to cover ourselves for the “just in case” times He has it all planned out to the very detail. How insignificant the little turn of events were regarding a wrinkle. But a big lesson He wanted to show me. God has me face my fears in so many ways just to teach me He’s there for me and loves me anyway and always. Wrinkle or not.


(taken by Nick Derington in Thailand)

Matthew 6:25-34

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat of what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown in the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat? Or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.                                                                                                        
Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

I was anxious about a wrinkle and I felt like God was saying to me,

“You’ll be ok. I’m here for you. I’ll take care of you. I’ve got you covered.”