What does it mean to wholeheartedly, 100% TRUST in the Lord? How do you trust him with every aspect of your life? What would your life look like if you put your TRUST in Him only?
I first heard about The World Race through a facebook ad back in May of 2017. I was scrolling to try and cope with the feelings I was experiencing after just completing a 10 month term of service with Americorps NCCC. I had spent the last ten months traveling the southeastern region of the US doing disaster relief volunteer work with a team, who while we had many challenges, I’d grown to love a lot. This experience was one like I had never had and was one you couldn’t even begin to understand unless you went through it yourself. I felt lonely. I’d spent months living, working and traveling with the same people and now I was supposed to just go back to my “normal life”?
When the ad popped up on my screen it was for a Webinar that the World Race was putting on to talk about revealing a new route. I was intrigued because I knew I loved to travel, didn’t have a plan for my life at that point, and I considered myself “religious” so I signed up to watch it. Immediately I felt an indescribable feeling that told me I needed to do this. So much has happened since I first saw that ad and there’s no doubt in my mind that God put The World Race on my heart at a very specific time. I had already committed to moving to Boston in the fall to start another Americorps year so there was no way I could apply for the race then. Looking back now, I wasn’t ready. God knew why I was going to Boston and it was for way bigger reasons then I could have ever imagined. I moved to Boston with the idea that I would do my year of service, pack up my things , go home to Texas and “start my life”. I graduated from college and needed to “put my degree to use”. God had a different plan because I still live in Boston today.
While I was spending some time at home this winter I felt the nudge from God to finally apply, it was time. My biggest restraint from applying for the race was the thought of leaving my family. This winter something in me shifted. I no longer felt the need to “fix” everything in my family. That weight had become increasingly lighter and lighter since I’d moved to Boston. It wasn’t because I didn’t care anymore or my life in Boston was more important to me. This shift came because I now accepted it wasn’t up to me. I understood there was so much out of my control and that if I left for the race God would take care of it. It didn’t matter if I lived in the same small TX town my whole life, if I never left Boston, or if I traveled the world because Jesus and his Holy Spirit has and always will be working in and around my family.
I was checking the World Race instagram EVERY SINGLE DAY once January came. As soon as the routes were up I was going to apply and I did. Fast forward a couple of weeks and I received the call that I had been accepted to launch for an Unscripted Route in January of 2021.
Trust is the word I felt God calling me to sit in for the year 2020. With the big decision I’d made about the race I knew I was going to have to trust God. If I got accepted, I’d have to trust that he would care for all the people I loved back in America. I would have to trust that he’d help me fundraise the amount I needed to go. I would have to trust that I’d be able to leave the work I loved in Boston to pursue what I think is his calling on my life. I thought this was all I’d have to work on trusting God for this year. Fast forward to March and the coronavirus epidemic. People are dying around the world, they are unemployed, stress and anxiety are rising and no one knows where the light at the end of the tunnel is. So, to say that “Trust” is my word for this year… is quite the understatement. I was ready to be back in Boston, get started at work, catch up on three months of being away from my spiritual family, and get creative with how to announce my acceptance to the race! In a time where so many things are uncertain I choose to still trust in Jesus who is full of grace, mercy and love. I know that God is still working amidst all that is going on right now. I am excited to start this blog in preparation for what God will be doing during this year and after.
So… if you’d like to follow along with me on this journey you can subscribe to my blog! 🙂 Thank you for taking the time to read this!
Blessings,
Cyntya
Such a wonderful journey you are going through. His face is shining on you! His mercies are new every day. I will keep you in prayer and hope to see you at training camp next year.