It is hard to describe what I am feeling right now, but it falls somewhere between thrilled and terrified. After months of planning and preparation, I am off. I sit here writing you while on my flight to Atlanta. There is a pit in my stomach, and I’m not sure if it’s from nerves or just from gulping down my Starbucks before boarding.
I am not a particularly emotional person, so my goodbyes were not tearful. That may have a lot to do with the fact that I don’t actually leave the country for another nine days, or part of it may be that I have grown accustomed to goodbyes and have steeled myself to the visible emotion of it all. In my heart, though, I am already missing my family, my friends, my church, etc. My liberties as an American in a free country where I speak the language, have my own car, a place to call home, and various other amenities has been replaced for a hiking pack, back pack, laptop, and purse totaling roughly 70 lbs. This is my life for the next year in the physical sense, when in fact my experiences will be greater than anything I can fit in a back pack. I don’t pretend to predict the future, but I am well aware of some of the events we will encounter this coming year. These thoughts are what bring on the mixed emotion—a sort of reverent fear of limited knowledge I have of this coming year.
My mind is rather all over the place right now—jumping from one thought to the next, barely finishing a single idea. I cannot wait to get my hands dirty, to be out there with the people, facing Christ’s love in a different fashion than I have ever witnessed; excited to experience true joy without materialistic drive.
The past two Sundays have been probably the most ideal messages for preparing for this trip. Pastor Tim, if he is in fact reading this, is probably shocked to the bone to see a sincere appreciation from me, void of our normal sarcastic banter. :0) At any rate, it was a two part message regarding faith and deeds. Never have I seen such a necessity for the two to be indivisible as I have now. To paraphrase a detailed message, full of “good” (profitable) knowledge and wisdom, faith without deeds is dead! I
do feel like the World Race is a way for me to truly put this into action, but I can’t help but question why I have only started now. Why has this concept never hit me so intensely before? Why has it taken eighteen years as a believer to grasp this? Complacency seems to be commonplace in the U.S.—something desperately needing to be reformed. On the flip side, I have often felt like because of its complacency, there is a greater call to go overseas where the need for a Savior is seemingly greater. This is a conundrum—because there are not enough people within
our country extending a hand in actions, we have become complacent…and because we are complacent, there are not enough people willing to extend a hand in actions within the country. If I’m confusing you, I am sorry, but it made sense in my head. A vicious cycle it is, but there
is something we can do…”we” being the church, the body of believers, the born-again holy-rollers. STEP OUT! Step out in to the community. Get involved. Volunteer. Once a month may get you started, but I find it hard to believe that after encountering people hungry for Christ’s love that once a month will be sufficient. Reform our nation, one opportunity at a time. Imagine if everyone attending a church right now gave up even one hour a month to feed the homeless, visit with inmates, or hold an orphan. Why
wouldn’t we want to live in a community that looked after each other? Can you even imagine the change in the aura of our worldly nation if we sacrificed even a little of the time our Lord has given us? I encourage you all to see what time you have to offer; what abilities you can extend to help center this nation back on Christian faith and doctrine and servant hood. Imagine if America was known as the most helpful nation, rather than just the wealthiest.
