I have one week until training camp, people. ONE WEEK! That is crazy! I can’t believe how fast time is going. So far this journey has already been intense and pushed me to grow, and I know there is so much more to come. Being over halfway funded is insane. I remember thinking, “There is no way I’m going to be able to raise that kind of money”, and, guess what, I didn’t. God has opened so many doors and has paved the way. I can’t take credit for any of it. I am just so thankful for everyone who is faithful to donate and join me on the great commission. I wanted to give you guys a little update of where I am and what God has been teaching me through this process so far–how He is shaping my heart and teaching me what faith is.
The concept of following Jesus is so simple but rarely easy. The only thing required of us is to surrender our hearts. That’s it–just hand it over. For some reason, it is so hard for us to do that. We overcomplicate it and make Jesus almost seem unreachable at times. We get caught up in thinking we’re not good enough and fall back into an identity that does not belong to us. One time in college I was sitting in Art History class, and we were talking about professional artists who wished they could lose their training and paint like a child again. At first I remember thinking that was stupid–why would anyone want to forget their training? Their reasoning was enlightening though–they wanted to connect to the world with innocent eyes again like a child. I remember when I first found Jesus. I was only 6 years old. My thought process about Jesus was so pure. There were no what-ifs or doubts. I thought, “Of course I want to follow Jesus. He Loves me.” Sometimes I want to be that innocent child again with no training, so I can just see Jesus. Matthew 18:2-5 says:
For an answer Jesus called over a child, whom he stood in the middle of the room, and said, “I’m telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you’re not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in. Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God’s kingdom. What’s more, when you receive the childlike on my account, it’s the same as receiving me.
We need to start from square one. We so quickly forget–I so quickly forget how much he loves us. Surrendering should be easy because He always has our best interest because He loves us. He won’t bring us harm, and He knows us so well that his decisions for us are better than our own.
For me having childlike faith is depending on God through the good and the bad–giving up the tedious task of worrying about anything and abandoning the importance of materialistic things. There is so much freedom in having faith.
This journey is an act of faith, and at times I have found myself lacking it. In the very beginning I was already doubtful of where the money would come from. The great part is– is that God understands our hearts. He is asking us to walk on the water like Peter did, and He’ll be there to grab our hand when we stumble. He says it only takes the faith of a mustard seed.
Matthew 17:20 “You don’t have enough. faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”
I’m looking forward to watching God move mountains not just on the race, but in my life. He has been so faithful to me despite my doubts. I want to embrace surrender and not fight against it. He is worth giving everything up.
