Believe it or not, Nickelodeon used to have some pretty outstanding programming. I could waste hours watching Doug and Rugrats and Pete & Pete and Clarissa. In fact, I usually did. Unfortunately, I eventually grew up, and the shows that used to thrill me became dull and devoid of entertainment value. Case in point is As Told By Ginger. It told the story of a junior-high ginger named Ginger through her point of view (although for some reason never mentioning her bout with Gingervitis, an often debilitating disease…this must have been in later episodes. 
) Perhaps because I was out of the intended age bracket, or the fact that Ginger's problems were mostly female in nature (even though I loved Pepper Ann), the show never resonated with me.
What, if anything, does this have to do with The World Race? It's a matter of perspective. I couldn't identify with Ginger's problems, so I brushed them off instead of looking for a way to understand them. Doesn't this happen all the time, with various people in myriad situations all over the world? Why is it so easy for us to overlook something that doesn't concern us? I'm guilty of this, and yet for too long I scarcely realized it. For example, when I walk by the homeless in Detroit, I never give them anything, not even a second glance. It has become commonplace to see scores of homeless patrolling the streets after a Lions game, and I always assume that someone else will help them, or, in the sometimes cynical way my mind works, chastise them mentally for failing to live up to "The American Dream." But how am I better? On the exterior, I was lucky enough to fall into opportunity and a solid family structure. But on the interior, I am, to them, as dark and empty as the death row prisoner.
Why, then, am I being led to other countries to do mission work, especially when there is so much to be done in Detroit alone? Again, it comes back to perspective. I, for some reason, tend to put blinders on when it comes to misappropriations of justice in the U.S., but in other countries it is downright evil for people to be exploited. I want to give those people a chance they've never had before. I've been to Mexico City five times to work in the garbage dumps, which are full of the poorest people I have ever seen. I've given a 50 year old woman her first set of glasses, and it's a joyous moment to see her face light up in delight. I feel ready for that to happen in 11 different countries, in hundreds of different situations, to thousands of different people. But am I really ready, given that I've neglected the needy of my own (adopted) city?
God doesn't discriminate. When I was called to go on The World Race, it was to make a difference. But that difference is not limited to the 11 countries on the itinerary. I am, with God's help, to make a contribution to the betterment of those at home first. I have seven months to serve those with whom I share an area code, if only they had a phone. I, for one, have been prone to take things for granted, including my economic/social standing. God calls us to be humble, but I have a prideful heart. Many people are full of pride for their accomplishments and status, but that doesn't make it right – not by a long shot.
I leave you with a scene from Groundhog Day. Bill Murray's character sees a homeless man on his way to the groundhog announcement but pays him no mind. This continues for the first few "days," until, looking at things from a new perspective, he notices the man and decides there is no harm in treating him to soup. As the "days" wind on, he spends more and more time with the man, even though he doesn't know him from Joe Schmo. It may be a weak analogy, but it gets the point across for me. Adopting a another perspective, whether borrowed from someone less fortunate or created through prayer and God's Will, causes us to serve Him in a way that is pleasing to Him. It's taken me far too long to realize this, and I ask for His forgiveness. I also ask that He use me as His instrument to spread goodwill, in Detroit and wherever else He may lead me.
