My race comes to an end in 9 days.
Now that this year is just about over, I can tell you it went fast. I will confess it surely did not as I was living it.
It has been difficult. It is difficult when you feel you don’t have control over the simplest things in your day. When you can’t speak the native language. When you don’t feel safe. When you miss things being accessible. When you simply don’t want to______(fill in the blank).
I am grateful.
Grateful for this opportunity to travel to Africa, Asia, and Central America. I have found that many people will never have such opportunity to leave their home due to not having the financial resources.
Grateful for my fellow travelers, my race family, one of the few consistencies I’ve had this year. These people have seen me at my happiest, my lowest, my battiness and still speak LIFE and LOVE into me.
Grateful for the time I have had to learn about God. I will tell you, I still haven’t scratched the surface of all He is. All I do know is, He is MIGHTY, MERCIFUL, and EVER-LOVING.
Grateful for my friends and family back home. It is simply AMAZING to know I have a home, actually many homes, to return to after the race. To know I am loved and wanted…not everyone has the support I have had. Thank you for being my support.
Although this list doesn’t begin to tell you what this year has done to me, for me, etc. I wanted to write down what I have learned on the race.
*How to identify my feelings.
*To forgive myself and truly rest in the grace God has extended to me.
*Healthy communication
*Intimacy with God
*The world is a big place full of needs and people who sacrifice their lives to bring peace, hope, and love.
*I am fully loved, perfectly unique, and completely forgiven.
*The devil is real and I have authority in Christ to overcome
*Reliance on God
*Getting in tune with God
*Love is not based on feelings. Love is a decision. An action. Love is hard.
*God’s grace is a gift and not to be taken for granted.
*There is a difference between unreached people and people who know and deny Christ. God pursues all.
*We were made to live in community. To be known and loved.
*My life has only just begun.
*How to pee outside
To be known and loved. Check.
I have pushed the limits of my comforts. I have LIVED.
This is only the beginning.
