This is the story of our Comfort Zone. When we are first made into little sea monkey’s of creation, we live happily inside our mother’s womb; it is our very first, literal comfort zone. Without being too graphic, it is warm, cozy and above all it is safe. Most of us don’t willing climb out of there, we have to be pushed out. But what happens when we get pushed out of our comfort zone? Our eyes open, we get to see the World for the very first time, we get to take out first real breath, and we get to experience life!
As we age we come to realize that while that comfort zone may have felt safe and secure, it was to our greater benefit to leave.
Unfortunately as life progresses we often find ourselves back in another comfort zone. Maybe you’re stuck in the same town that’s not giving you any promise, maybe you’re stuck in a job that makes you unhappy but safe, maybe your stuck in a relationship or surrounded by a group of friends, that you know are bad for you but you’re afraid to leave. We all have our comfort zones, each and every one of us. They all look different but they all offer the same thing, security at the cost of experiencing real life.
Prior to accepting the World Race, I struggled with this very dilemma. I have an incredibly blessed life. I have a wonderful apartment fully furnished, I have an incredible relationship, amazing friends, I’m finally getting fully involved in my church and community, everything is beginning to piece together so well, everything seems to be in its place and secure, but that’s not where life calls us.
We often get that call to Abandon, for many of us it’s instinctual, to want to get up and quit our job, to want to leave on that backpacking trip around Europe, to want to take a spontaneous road trip with the girls. We all feel it at one time or another, that voice that says GO! However, so many of us talk ourselves out of that voice, we say it’s not realistic, we have certain responsibilities, what are we going to do for food, shelter, or money? We try and talk ourselves out of these instinctual aspirations by attempting to argue the rational. But the truth is LIFE BEGINS AT THE END OF OUR COMFORT ZONE. When we release our grip and GO, something happens, God can finally pick up the reigns.
I myself have heard God calling me to Abandon and Go. I am moving out of my 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment and into my 65-liter backpack. I have some expectations, but I truly don’t know what the next year holds, where I’ll be, who I’ll meet, or what I’ll experience. But for a control freak like me there is something completely liberating about releasing the reigns. I find myself right at the edge of my Zone Limits, behind me stands my amazing friends, family and a comfortable home and in front of me lies a whole world of the unexpected. It is scary for sure, but the best part about it is, most often when one is called out of their comfort zone, they return a better version than before. I encourage others to make the pledge with me, that I will continue to acknowledge when my securities are holding me back from experiencing God’s grace and true life itself, I will strive to identify the zone limits in my life and keep walking past them, because that is where life truly begins.
My new home for 11 months!
God Bless!
Love,
Samara
xoxox
