Hey y’all! Welcome to my first official blog post. Not gonna lie… I’m kind of nervous about writing this. Sharing about my faith and vulnerabilities kind of intimidates me. Especially when just about anyone can read what I am feeling. That is also the beauty of this page though! This pushes me to share about my journey and show the genuine, raw experiences that I will undergo. Yes, this is extremely new (and a little scary) for me, but this is also an incredible opportunity for me to learn how to become more and more comfortable sharing about God’s greatness.
Now, lets get into my first blog post yay! So a couple weeks ago, I was asked by my squad mentor, Jodi, to share a post with y’all called “Why I am Going on the World Race”. This really got me thinking. My first response to that question is “Oh I want to share God’s word and help others see His work”, but once I thought more and more about that question, I realized it goes way deeper than that.
About 4 months ago, I was really struggling to decide which school I should go to in the fall. During this time, I was in the process of deciding on a college out off 3 that I had been accepted to. My choices were to stay in my home town of Cape, go a few hours away to a school in Nashville, Tennessee, or go across the country to a school in California. Because I was so confused, I decided the best way to decide was to give it to God. I began to pray everyday about this decision. Just making simple conversation with Jesus while I was in this state of confusion, helped immensely. A few weeks passed and I still had no clue where to go to school. Oddly enough, this is when I first discovered The World Race. At this point, I hadn’t really considered taking a gap year because I thought my path was to go to college straight out of high school. Finally, after many weeks of praying for guidance, I felt that the Lord had given me a little nudge towards serving Him. Ironically, I came across an Instagram post mentioning The World Race. I was so intrigued that I spent hours reading the current racer’s blog posts and experiences. Later that night, I found a few other people who had been on the race, and reached out to them. Everyone I talked to spoke about the race in such a positive way. I was instantly inspired. Then, I began to ask Jesus if this was the right direction for me. Was this the reason I was having such a hard time choosing a college? Was it because the Lord had different plans for me? Not long after asking God for guidance, I felt 100% sure that taking a gap year and serving others on a nine month mission trip is exactly what He has led me to do. Soon after making this decision, I talked to my parents and began applying for the race. Once I was accepted to go on the race, I felt like everything had fallen into place. With the help and guidance of God, I finally had a plan.
So when I was asked to write about why I was going on the race, I thought back to the first time I came across the World Race. Yes, the main reason I am going on the race is to be a disciple for the Lord, but God literally led me in this direction. For those two reasons, I feel so comfortable with my decision to take on this journey. Wow, I am still so amazed by His plan for me.
Thank y’all so much for reading this. Your prayers and support mean the absolute world to me. Love y’all. God bless!
-Shelby
