This weekend, I made a quick trip to DFW to visit the REI store and buy some of my gear for the trip. In total, I spent about $1100.00 on my tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, sleeping bag liner, shoes, clothes, and miscellaneous items. Let me let you in on a little secret: I DO NOT LIKE DRIVING IN DFW. Period. Cannot stand the absolute terror of trying to figure out what road to take, what lane to be in, and what all of the drivers around me are trying to do.
Actually, I’ve lived most of my life with the goal of avoiding the task of driving in the DFW area. It’s difficult to avoid for a few reasons: first off, I have family and friends in the area; second, it’s Dallas-we all know what that means-literally everything is there; and, third, I literally drive through on I-20 between my 2 homes. Until now, I managed to avoid driving everywhere except for I-20.
So, this weekend, I drove all through Dallas, Plano, Fort Worth, and I’m sure other places I barely knew and understood. I didn’t like it, and I certainly was well aware of that fact the entire time. But I was also keenly aware of how necessary it was to do what I was doing. This trip to DFW was a very necessary part of preparing for the next year of my life, even though I really didn’t want to do it.
Sometimes, we have to do things we don’t really want to do because they’re beneficial. Sometimes, the hard and scary things are a necessary part of life. I expect this to be only one of many such experiences of doing something I don’t want to do for the sake of the Kingdom on this World Race. Perhaps even just a small taste of things to come.
But I consider that something to look forward to as well. Being challenged on the World Race is an inherent aspect of the trip I am knowingly signing up for. And in some ways, yes, it is something I am looking forward to seeing in this process. So, while I may not like it or always want it, I recognize this post as a continuation of the challenge to consider things I am looking forward to on the World Race, because I have no idea what challenges I will face, but I know they’ll mold me into the person I grow to become. And that is something to be excited about.
