For a bit over a week my feet have been swollen. I’m not complaining, that’s the life of a traveler. Because of this, I couldn’t fit into my shoes so I had to wear my flip flops. No big deal. In Greece pretty much everything we need is in walking distance. I feel like I walk miles everyday here. Too bad I can’t count all the walking as a gold star on our squad’s exercise chart. Some days we walk to the market or stores to get treats. Some days we walk to the park to play with the kids of the refugees that live there. Sometimes we walk around town and just chat with strangers or pass out bananas to people begging. Sometimes we do all these things in the same day.
So of course after 2 weeks of this, my flip flops were making my feet worse. Some of my teammates suggested I get new shoes. That sounded like a great idea, but my adventure to Athens ate my entire month’s budget. I mean, I still had some pocket change but not enough for quality shoes. Honestly, I could have made it work. I could have purchased shoes. But why do something today, when you can put it off until tomorrow?
So yesterday, I was messing around online trying to check my bank account statement. When I noticed I had way more money than I should. Someone who really cares about me wired money into my account! I felt overjoyed and relieved. As I was sharing this information with a friend the strap of my flip flops snapped. Perfect timing! I had enough money to get shoes and it seemed like God was telling me flip flops are a bad idea for everyday footwear. My God loves me!!!
As I was mentally celebrating this my thoughts got redirected. I thought of the refugees who walked 6 hours everyday to get to Greece. I thought of the family from Iraq that walked for 50 days. I remembered the kids from Afghanistan that I met in the park. What if these people had broken shoes? Where would they get new ones? Would they probably go barefoot? That’s when I realized I have an abundance. My mind was living in a scarcity mindset. I thought I couldn’t afford shoes. I thought I didn’t have enough money. Sometimes I think I don’t even have enough food.
The truth is, I have plenty. Even if I had zero money and had nothing to supplement our food budget, I would still have more than enough. I wouldn’t go barefoot. I would just duct tape my sandals together. That would be fine. I wouldn’t starve. I would be fine eating eggs and toast. I’m sleeping in a bed. I have a place to shower. I have a bag pack full of belongings. I have this iPod that I’m writing this blog on. I’m more than blessed.
Is it really possible that I’ve gone over 6 months thinking I had to scrape things together to get by? How could I not see that my standard of living was above standard? As a World Racer, too often I think I’ve given up everything to follow God. When really I’ve only given up a few months of my life and I still haven’t actually given them up. Even though I’m not used to sharing a room with 9 other people or eating on $5 a day, I haven’t given up much. I’m not living in brokenness. I’m living in abundance and now I recognize it.
The cool thing though, is that God loves me. He loves me enough to still love me even when I’m not grateful. Even when I act like an entitled princess. I don’t want to be that kind of princess. I want to be the kind that fights for others. I want to be a warrior princess.
