the reasons behind the whys

Why am I going on the World Race? The words that come to mind, immediately, are “why not”. This isn’t a flippant, I don’t care “why not” but truly, there are so many reasons WHY I am going on the Race that the “why nots” become so insignificant.”

It would be quite the task to come up with one straight answer to why I am taking this journey. Though, I am excited to share a few of the many reasons I have committed to this 9-month mission trip.

An ongoing prayer of mine and a strong call on my heart for many years is to go into the world and make disciples of all nations. (Matthew 28:18-20) There are people, God’s own children, in this world, who have never even heard of Him. That fact breaks my heart. The Lord’s commandment to each of His followers is to go and spread the good news. Although this looks vastly different in each life, my personal call right now is to go on the Race, serve others, and let the Lord use me to tell people about who He is! This is the first and foremost reason I am going on the Race.

 Moving on to another big reason I chose the World Race. To be completely honest I have never been very school-oriented. I admire friends who enjoy algebra and are fascinated by chemistry; Though I pretty much knew from the get-go of high school I would not thrive being and doctor, scientist, etc.  It just never felt like my lead. So, when my friends started talking about the perfect SAT score and the big-time colleges they were going to attend after high school, I was intimidated. I had a lot of doubt and fear about my future. I did not feel at peace with the idea of college, at least right out of high school.

Throughout high school, I went to Mexico, Guatemala, and Africa on short-term mission trips. While in each country I discovered and grew a new passion of mine. I found that I love to travel, experience different cultures, serve others, and learn more about all of the Lord’s creations. Those trips completely changed my view and how I live. 

In early high school, I found out about the World Race Gap Year. This trip consisted of all the things I loved and was passionate about and wanted to pursue. I talked and dreamed about it for several years but when the time came to start figuring out what I wanted to do after high school, I went back and forth on decisions out of fear. After some real thought, I decided that I needed a gap year before college. But was the WRGY the right choice? Taking off for 9 months, leaving friends, family, and my comfort zone seemed crazy scary. Again, fear started sneaking back in. However, the Lord brought into the light the positives of this opportunity. The Growth, experience, adventure, and memories would by far top all the negatives I was so hung up on. I felt lead to apply. I told myself I would just fill out an application and if I didn’t get accepted, I would know the Lord had another plan for me. If I did get accepted then I would take some time, pray about it, talk to loved ones, and think about it and then, I would make my decision. And so, that is exactly what I did. I applied. After completing a couple more steps of the application process, I got a call, followed by an email informing me that I had been accepted to the WRGY. WHOOP WHOOP! (that will forever be one of my favorite phone calls!)  I did take some time to pray, think and talk about it, but I just knew in my heart that the Lord was opening a door and I needed to walk right on through it.

The fear didn’t really just go away, the Lord just gave me the strength and courage to say NO to the fear and YES to Him. And so, I committed to a spot on my team! I believe that taking this gap year will help me grow more into who I am through the Lord and help me to find clarity on the next steps of my life. 

There is a certain part of a song called “Oceans” that I find so powerful and this lyric has been a prayer over my life for quite a while. It goes like this, “Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders” going on to say “Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander, and my faith will be made stronger.” I am going on the Race because I want my life to reflect this song. I know my faith in Jesus will strengthen as I learn to give all control to Jesus through this whole journey and beyond.

I am choosing to obey the Lord in my call. I want to serve others, celebrate life, and share the GREAT name of Jesus Christ. And those, my friends, are the reasons behind my whys. I am already loving this experience and am so giddy to see all the Lord has in store. THANK YOU, JESUS!!!