“The divine ‘go’ comes into every life, but we must be willing to leave before we’re willing to go...What do we say when the divine ‘go’ comes to us? If I go, I might mess up, but if I don’t go, if I don’t risk, if I don’t try, if I don’t say yes, I will never do something wonderful for God. If I say yes, I might fail, but if I don’t, I will never get to the promised land of life with God to be a blessing in his world.”

-John Ortberg All the Places to Go How Will You Know? 

I don’t remember when/how I first heard about the World Race, but I remember telling my college roommates that if I didn’t know what to do after graduation, I would look into applying for the World Race. Of course, I ended up finding something I wanted to do after graduation. But 7-8 months ago, I moved back home, and it hasn’t always been easy. For the longest time, I was caught up in the idea that I had to get a job- a real job- and figure out my life. But nothing was working out. There was a lot of silence, a lot of no’s, a lot of me saying “This doesn’t feel right,” because I’ve always felt that there is more out there for me.

In John Ortberg’s book All the Places to Go How Will You Know?, he talks about Naomi, Ruth and Orpah. Orpah eventually decides to leave Naomi and Ruth to go back home which was not a bad or wrong decision. It was a choice that promised security. However, Ruth chose her devotion to Naomi and ended up in the family line of Jesus. Ortberg then writes, “I wonder what you’re choosing. I know we live in a society that will tell you ‘Be reasonable. Be prudent. Build a successful career. Be secure. Use all your time and energy and resources,’ You can do that if you want- great resume, great benefits- or you can bet everything on love.”  And I’m choosing to bet on my love for God.

Since I’ve been home, I’ve done a lot of reading which has helped make this an easy decision. While I read about World Race routes one day and applied the next, this was not a decision made on a whim. It’s been in the make for months.

Shortly after returning home, I decided I wanted to read through the entire Bible. While doing that, I also read Draw the Circle by Mark Batterson and Radical by David Platt. These books challenged me to change how I live out my Christian faith by encouraging me to step outside my comfortable Christian lifestyle and to truly believe God can do anything. One idea that has stuck with me is “if you were to take God out of your life, would your life look any different?” Sadly, the answer for me is not really. And I am not okay with that. Since that realization I have wanted to take a step of faith and get outside of my comfortable Christian lifestyle. So when I remembered about the World Race, I knew it was supposed to be my next step.

I can’t wait for this incredible opportunity. I hope you will join me on this journey and see what awesome things God can do!