I am officially back in America, my squad and I touched down in Boston on the 28th. It was a long two days of traveling, but it was well worth it!!
The story I want to share is about the world race. Let me tell you something, I learned a huge lesson Month one of the Race in the first week of Chile. One of my favorite hosts, pastor David, shared a piece of wisdom with me that I will never forget. He said to myself and my team “Your Race starts the minute you get home.”
At first I thought about it and shrugged it off. What does he even mean by that, I’m traveling the world now, this is the world race, not home. What he meant by that is that the Race starts when I get home… after the world race ends there are a lot of decisions to be made. Will I continue to seek community? Will I continue to pray? Will I seek and crave growth? Will I step out in faith? These questions are action based.
When Pastor David said that to me and my team he was speaking a wisdom and truth that I can’t even begin to comprehend. The Race is not just a year long mission trip to 11 countries, it’s where the sacrifice and commitment to a life with Jesus begins. Yes it is a mission trip, but it’s a life changing year of growth, memories, and experiences that I will never be able to unsee or unexperience.
I love the concept of running a race, not because I’ve ever run a long race, but because it’s not about winning, it’s about endurance. A race cannot be finished without training (gradually running everyday), discipline (continually running a little farther each day and not giving up), consistency (its daily not weekly or monthly), commitment (it takes time, energy and a committed heart), and endurance (you can’t finish a race until you endure through the hard days, long runs and painful minutes).
The depiction of this race is the same as the race with Jesus. We need training, discipline, consistency, commitment and endurance. My race started on August 28 at 2 pm as I landed in America. That’s where my race began, yes it truly began when I started following Jesus. But it makes a lot of sense, races begin once the training is over. The training prepares you for the real race. And what’s cool about that is that in life there are many races to be run, so you train for one, run it, and then continue to run one after another. It’s a cool concept that our life is a race, but not one that we sprint to the finish line, but one where we jog with endurance and strength that at the end Jesus will be waiting for us cheering for us as we cross that finish line and spend all eternity talking about that time we finished the race.
With that being said, my training is over and my race has begun. I am now home in Syracuse spending time with family and friends. I feel like God is asking me to rest and spend a few months here. Right now I am praying about what’s next for me, and I know he will show me. Please pray for this transition as it is really hard to reintegrate back into the states.
Thank you all for following my blog, encouraging and praying for me, loving me well and supporting the kingdom of God. Love to you all!
And let the Race begin…
