First off, there’s a rule for the World Race that you have to agree to when you apply; if you are not in a relationship at the time of application, you cannot pursue a relationship leading up to or while on the Race.
So calm down. I’m not in a relationship, friends haha
Me: “I’m not great at long term things”
Amber: “… Commitment?”
When I signed up for the World Race, I never saw it as a real commitment. This was only for 11 months. It could hardly be considered a commitment. What I didn’t take into account was all the months leading up to it. All the preparation, the fundraising, the growing and stretching, I didn’t think about that.
One year.
It’s been exactly one year since I found out I got accepted to go on the World Race. My dreams had come true. Something I thought about doing for years was becoming a reality.
After the initial bliss and excitement, reality truly did kick in. I was flooded with feelings of fear and doubt and inadequacy. My emotions were always such a rollercoaster, one day I’d be over the moon excited and the next day I’d be completely worried. As time went on, I got better at handling the roller coaster and became more steadfast.
The past couple of months have been different. I realized the one year mark was approaching and I’ve been discouraged. I thought about all the work I’ve put in and all the growing that has occurred (there has been an insane amount of growth) and can I be honest? It’s been HARD. We’ve raised almost $9000 and there’s still another $8000 to go. I’m only halfway up this fundraising mountain and I can’t imagine what pain I’ll have to go through to finish. It’s a lot. Praise the Lord for grace because had I known what I do now going into this, surely I would’ve given up before I even started.
I’ve actually had funny conversations with the Lord recently about this being similar to being in a relationship. Obviously if I’m not great a commitment, or persevering for that matter, how would I manage to deal with a relationship or yet, marriage?! Marriage is kind of a “’til death do us part” thing so that’s quite a long time. I can’t even fathom that. But God is always preparing us for the next thing, so what if this is preparing me for that?? I giggle and try not to think about it haha It’ll happen when it happens. Lord help the poor soul who dates me in the future. That will definitely be an interesting adventure.
This World Race adventure, however, has been like nothing I’ve ever experienced before and I’m definitely not the same person as when I started. I’ve learned so much about myself and the Lord and life in general. It’s been hard, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I’m a better person because of this and I’m praying I continue to look more like Christ every day.
With that, I’m just over $1,000 away from my next fundraising deadline!! Praise the LORD!!! Once I meet that goal, I will definitely be leaving with my squad when launch comes around.
Please continue praying for provision for me and my squadmates as the first deadline approaches. I could also use prayer for perseverance and endurance because one year in and another 15 months to go will definitely be hard on this girl who is learning to stick it out and follow through on commitments. Other things you could pray for would be submitting and being obedient to Christ every day, guarding our hearts and minds to any lies of the devil, trusting that the Lord is faithful and will do what He says He will do, and anything else that comes to mind! And lastly, for increase in our squad. We don’t have enough people right now (we’re about 20 short) so it’s possible that they might cancel our route if we don’t have the numbers by the end of this month. I’ll keep you updated on that. Thank you all for your continued support, it truly is invaluable!
