no extra shirt

These past few weeks have been humbling. People have been going out of their way left and right to make this vision of mission come true for me. I found out just last week that if every person out there who read my first two World Race blogs had given 20 bucks to my support account—I could be fully funded right now. I can’t even believe that! Thanks to everyone out there following this story. You mean the world to me! If you want to help, you can click the “support me” button right here on this blog. Thank you dearly!

 The biggest thought on my mind as I turn 22 today is this: next year, when I turn 23, I’ll be in Turkey.

I can barely believe I turn 22 today. I still remember my birthday last year in vivid detail: it was beautiful out, warm and sunny; I was wearing a yellow skirt and cow girl boots; I spent the night with friends singing “Ho Hey,” and eating cupcakes. How is it possible that it’s time for another year? 

In one sense, it seems like last year flew by. But in another, I realize how much has happened and how much the Lord has done in my heart. These last twelve months have been crucial in getting me to the place I’m currently standing in. And yet I know there is much, much more in store.

Next year is going to challenge me in ways I’ve never been challenged before. Last night I was blessed to have dinner with a girl in the area who’s a former World Racer. Her stories are amazing. I was reminded that there are a lot of things I haven’t even begun to think about yet.

Little things. Like the fact that I probably won’t use a hairdryer or makeup for a year. That I’ll sleep on the floor, a lot. That she encourages me to pack three shirts. For the year.

When she threw out the three-shirt suggestion, I immediately began cracking up. I’m terrible at packing! My goodness, I am terrible at packing. When I went to the Dominican Republic, it was legitimately embarrassing because my bag was seven pounds over and I had to stand there in the Santo Domingo airport piling stuff I couldn’t fit into the arms of my sweet driver, Giovanni. I’m sitting there starting to agonize over how I would ever even choose three shirts, and then I remembered something Jesus once told his disciples. In Luke 9 when Jesus first sent out the 12 to proclaim the Kingdom, he told them this: “Take nothing for the journey–no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt.”

Did you catch that? No. Extra. Shirt.

Jesus sent out his first followers with no worldly possessions. They didn’t even pack a bag. All they had was God’s word and the shirt on their back, no money and no food prepared for the next day. And you know why?

Because Jesus didn’t want them to trust in their own resources. He wanted them to trust in HIM.

I love that this journey is going to teach me so much about what trusting in Jesus can really look like. I think it’s easy to grow numb in America to how much we truly need Jesus; often we don’t depend on him for much of anything. We have food, we have clothes, we have resources in abundance. I can’t even begin to imagine how shifting my focus from having these things at hand, to suddenly…. not, will not only create less clutter and more space for Jesus to be at the forefront of my attention, but will allow my trust to be in HIM and not my own sense of security and earthly possessions. I hope that this lesson of simplicity and trust rings true next year on my 23^rd birthday.

 I’ll report back on the matter on March 19th next year from Turkey. Hopefully, I’ll be writing about a new understanding of what it means to trust in Jesus, and hopefully, I’ll be loving the heck out of those three shirts. 

(P.S. I’ll probably pack just a few more than three … is 11 acceptable? One a month??)

 “God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.” – Psalm 46:4