I love to drive. I do not like being in the passenger seat. I enjoy having control of the vehicle and knowing that I will be safe. With this being said….riding in the car while my 16 year old brother is behind the wheel scares me (sorry Hayden). Normally when Hayden drives, I’m tense, watching the road carefully, and taking the occasional ‘Oh my gosh my brother is driving’ selfie. Today when my dad, my brothers and I went to the park, Hayden drove and I sat in the back seat of the Jeep. Today was beautiful, the sun was shining and we took the opportunity to take the top off the Jeep. I found myself sitting in the backseat not stressing about who was driving, but just relaxing and enjoying the ride. I began to think, and I realized that God was painting a perfect picture of my life in a way that was so simple for me to understand.
Confession time. I enjoy control. I am the leader in group projects. I like to be the driver. I like to make an hourly schedule for my day each morning. I enjoy feeling like I have control over my life, my situations, and my surroundings. While this helps me stay organized, it also tends to stress me out much more than it should. It’s hard for me to accept when things don’t go my way and more often than not, life throws curveballs and things don’t always go as expected.
This has been a challenge that I’ve been having to work to overcome since my journey with The World Race. Immediately following my acceptance, I began planning how I was going to raise money and what I would do to make things go smoothly. Very quickly, God began to show me that all I needed to do was sit back and relax and let Him do all of the work. He already has everything perfectly orchestrated for me, so what good would it do to make my own plans and stress and worry when they don’t go the way I envisioned?
It does no good.
I’ve quickly found that it is so much easier to just relax and let God take care of things. Life is so beautiful when you are able to take things as they come and enjoy the beauty of each moment. I can honestly say that I am the happiest I have ever been. There is so much joy and freedom that flows from the peace of resting in God’s love and His plan. Matthew 6:25-27 says
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?”
I am so thankful for a God who has perfectly orchestrated my life for me so that I don’t have to worry and stress. I am thankful that He has promised to take care of me. I am thankful that He has given me the opportunity to travel the world for 9 months, exploring, adventuring, and helping His people. I am thankful that He has given me this beautiful Earth and beautiful people to surround me. I am thankful for this life and I am so glad that I am His.
