To The Future Racer: Things I Wish I Would Have Been Told Before The Race Began

We’ve officially reached the halfway mark, the tipping point, the downhill slide, more days finished than left to go, whatever you want to call it and however you want to look at it–five and a half months done, five and a half months to go. Goodness. 

God has been good, and life has been hard. Many days have been sweet, and some days have felt impossibly long and difficult. 

A few years ago, the women’s ministry at my church introduced me to the idea of “trench buddies”. People who are with you in the trenches of life, drudging along with you, fighting for you and beside you, your confidants and encouragers. I’m thankful to have found a few buddies out here for the trenches I feel some days like I’m walking through. 

 

Before the World Race started, I felt like I was looking for and getting advice from a million different avenues. I was praying faithfully, asking the Lord for wisdom and peace and for His will to be done. I was talking to my closest friends, processing leaving and soaking in the last moments of face-to-face encouragement and life together. I was reading blogs from current and former Racers, following along on their Instagrams and YouTube channels. 

And in all of that, I received some good advice! Forget about bringing the mess kit (you won’t really need it), bring a good rain jacket (you will really need it), be expectant of the Lord, learn the balance of alone time and fellowship with the squad early, on and on. 

As good as God has been, and as sweet as my trench buddies are out here, there are a few things I wish I’d been told before the Race began. So to the future Racer, if or when you stumble upon this blog, I want to give you some advice now for what’s to come… 

– Your blog is going to be the absolute easiest way to update a bunch of people really quickly about what you’re doing. You don’t have to “be a blogger” to use it well either. Don’t like writing? Take photos and describe what they are. Not a good storyteller? Start by just explaining what you do in a typical day. Trust me, in those months you spend your entire off day bussing into town just to use some ridiculously slow wifi, you’ll just want to hit post on a blog… not try to text and call everyone back home.

– Bring what you want to (within reason but more importantly, within the 50 lbs weight limit of most airlines) and you’ll end up dropping what you find you don’t need. Don’t let someone talk you out of bringing your favorite flannel or the shoes that make you feel most like yourself. Accept before you leave that you may come home with none of what you’re taking (for instance, if your bag gets lost on a plane or stolen from a bus), and know that even if that happens, you will survive and God is still good. 

– The gear that weighs 2 lbs less is worth the extra search/cost/patience. A tent that weighs 5 lbs might be a little bigger for the month you use, but your body will thank you if you go for the tent that only weighs 3 lbs instead when you carry it everywhere on travel days, and when you’re stressing about what to drop to make weight before getting on a plane the next day. 

– It’s not going to hurt to leave a ministry, a country, or a team every single time. And don’t feel guilty when it doesn’t hurt. God does different things in and through you in different seasons, months, locations, etc. Some places you’ll feel like you’d be happy to stay forever, and others you’ll be counting down the days until your next flight. Sometimes you’ll be ready to leave the physical place but not the people you’ve come to love there. In all of it, trust that God is up to better things than you’ll ever truly understand. 

– Community is hard and when it feels most challenging, like you’re under the most pressure or in the strongest heat of conflict or dissonance–remember that the refiner’s fire is blazing hot, and it’s best that way. Iron sharpens iron, so stand firm but allow yourself to be sharpened. 

– It’s not going to be enjoyable every day. There will be many days and many moments that you love and feel as if you’re exactly where you’re meant to be, you’ll feel free and purposeful and light. And there will be other days and other moments where you feel drained and weary and burned out, like you’d rather be anywhere in the world but the place you find yourself. That’s okay. Don’t beat yourself up over it, and certainly don’t hate yourself for it. When was the last time you enjoyed every consecutive day of your life for a year? Right… that’s not reality so don’t expect it to be your experience on the field. 

– Don’t expect God to work, teach, and move in your life in perfect month-long increments. He’s God, and He can do whatever He wants. You’ll get really used to referring to months by the country you were in, but don’t expect God to be done teaching you something by the end of the month. Time is unimportant to Him, and He’s not concerned with giving you a tidy and neat lesson to take away from each month to post on your blog or in an Instagram caption. Let God be God, and know your place as child of the One True King, student of the Most Patient Rabbi, and friend of Jesus Christ the Lord. 

 

Each of these things, I know now. But I learned them out here through trial and fire and mess ups and mistakes. So to the future racer… learn from me, and I hope and pray you find sweeter rest and an easier transition with a more well-rounded understanding of what’s to come. You can do it. It is hard and it is good, and you are more than capable of running this Race with excellence. 

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My team is currently in David, Chiriqui province, Panama! We’re planning to be here until the beginning of July, when we’ll meet up with the squad and fly to Peru. 

 

Please pray: 

• for opportunities to know the people around us and share the love of Christ. 
• for humility, honesty, and integrity amongst the team. 
• for physical protection and safety for the team as we prayer walk and meet our neighbors.