In life, it is so easy to fall into daily habits that determine the structure of your day. This was true for my days at home before the Race. I would wake up early, spend some time with God over a cup of coffee, go to work, come home, work out, eat dinner, do something relaxing, go to bed, then repeat again the next day. The days became routine, the weeks started blending together, and I became less intentional with my time. It was common for me to spend hours reading books or watching Netflix, often finding ways to “kill time.”
If I could only take away one thing that I’ve embraced so far on the Race, it would be that time is truly a limited commodity. It makes me sad to think of all the moments I’ve wasted at home, where I’ve sought to kill time instead of give life to it. On the Race, the idea of wasting time (whether intentionally done or not) is terrifying. An 11 month commitment seems like a long time, but in the grand scheme of life, it’s extremely short.
We are given one month in each country. That’s one month to develop relationships with our teammates, develop relationships with local ministry partners, connect with the people we are serving, delve deeper into our relationships with God- seeking his will for internal transformations and his will for how we personally should approach ministry for the month, learn how to navigate a new city and a new culture, and learn how to generally live and adjust to the constantly changing structure of our daily life. Let’s just say if we ever have a moment when we are trying to kill time, then something is wrong.
As overwhelming as that sounds, I have not only been enjoying my time here, but thriving in it as well. I’ve started really thinking about the best way for me to spending my time, the best way for me to be intentional and fully present in every moment. Living like this has shown me first hand the importance of living as a follower of Christ, of what it looks like to glorify him in everything that I do. It has never been more apparent to me that I might be the only example of Christ that the people I come into contact with here will ever see.
When I eventually make my way back to the States, this is a lesson I intend to keep with me. I want to live every day with a discipline of intentionality. I want to exemplify Christ in every action that I perform, in every interaction with a stranger or loved one, in every spare moment of time that I would previously have “killed.” To those who are reading this, I would challenge you to do the same. Try to spend the moments of your day in a way where you go to bed at night feeling like you’ve given all that you have to the things you do throughout the day, even the tedious responsibilities that tend to consume the days. Invest deeply in relationships, even the ones that might seem insignificant at the moment. I guarantee that you will notice a difference in the fruits that blossom from this type of attitude.
Thank you to all who are following my blog, and thank you to those who are leaving me with comments and prayers. We begin our travels to Madagascar tomorrow, with a layover in Kenya along the way. Prayers for safe travels for my squad and for God to continue to prepare Madagascar for the power of the Holy Spirit to sweep through the nation.
