Typing with one hand is not as easy as people make it look, yet that is where I find myself now. With my
nearly year-and-a-half-old nephew on my lap, I find it impossible to use both hands. He is directing me to where he wants my hand to go, and it is not exactly accurate. From time to time he’ll reach over and hit a key or the cursor, directing it to a different point on the screen. This is more amusing to me than it should be, and I am just thrilled to have his company. I haven’t seen Ethan since last summer, and he has certainly grown.
Just thinking about being away from
all family for eleven months makes me a little melancholy. I know that I am supposed to go on this trip, but leaving them—the only earthly consistency in my life—for a year is tough. When I think back to the various years of my life, and the events that have taken place within my family, I know that I will be missing a lot. I can’t even begin to predict the amount of memories that I won’t be a part of or occasions that I will see through photos, rather than in person.
The real question is…would I be
this disappointed if I decided to stay—live for myself and go against God’s will? No! I am convinced that the disappointment would be far greater. It’s tough for me to even get these thoughts out of my head, but I am so certain of the necessity for me to go on the World Race for multiple reasons—foremost is the belief that this is where Christ is currently leading me. With that established, secondary reasons come up. If this is what God’s immediate will is for me, to go would be a
visible sign that I desire to follow his direction; to go means that I am opening myself up to ministry in the future—an accepting of not only His present will, but for the things yet to come as well. I also believe that committing to this draws me closer to Him.
My family will always be there for me; no matter time or distance, they will remain family. With the World Race, I have the opportunity to contribute to a family of Christ-following
peers, which I may have never known without this great leap of faith. Without saying “yes” to my Lord, I probably would have never met this new, future family—some of which I have already grown close with.
I am just so thankful that I have the whole summer to be with my family up here (my brother, Tim, and his family are still in GA, but will be up to visit). I am really praying that every moment I spend with them I count as a blessing—that I am thankful for every time my nephew sits on my lap, even if he is hitting the wrong keys.
*The photo is of Caleb (my brother) and Ethan (my
sister’s son) inside a furniture box.*
