I’m not the type to speak for others. I’m a firm believer that we all have the right to voice our own opinion, but I feel as if I can speak for a majority of us when I say that these past 4 months haven’t been anything like we were expecting. There were several events we’ve been planning for years and events we were all so excited about. In March 2020 our world was shaken by a global pandemic. Senior events were all of a sudden not an option anymore, it was better to stay quarantined than go out, gathering in large crowds was no longer a familiar feeling. We’ve all been hit with this huge curveball and had to pause on life. We were stuck in a dead-end not knowing a way to turn back around.
As a Christian, I should know that life is never going to be a smooth ride, but why does this bump in the road feel so different? I’ve never once lost hope or faith in the lord over these past 4 months, but one thing I lost was this “happily ever after” I had envisioned in my head as my last chapter in high school was coming to an end. If I’m being honest the thought of growing up has always scared me. The thought of everything I’m so familiar with now is one day going to be unknown. The thought of seeing the same people every day for 12 years to only go our own separate ways and act like total strangers leaves me with this unsettling feeling in my stomach. The thought of no longer living this childhood we’ve been blessed to live for 17 years just for it to change the year we turn 18. Turning 18 is a moment we all wait for until it hits us that it’s time to get our life together because before we know it we’ll be making decisions we’ve depended on our parents to make our whole life.
We often overthink too much, we can’t help it because it’s just the typical human thing to do. We envision all of these things we eventually want one day but choose to ignore the reality of the situation. For me personally, I choose to ignore that we’re in the middle of this global pandemic and think everything will go back to normal, but in reality, it wasn’t our normal. It was a time where we got too comfortable living this life full of expectations. Something God has been speaking over me is that if we walk into a situation always expecting something we will never be fulfilled. God is the only one who can fulfill us. Challenge yourself during this time, listen to the lord during these questionable times because he is the only one who can guide us.
I’ve challenged myself to not stress because this is simply one situation I can’t control, it is 100% out of my hands. I’ve given it all to the Lord and he hasn’t failed to keep me on my toes. With that being said due to COVID-19, adventures in missions have decided it is best for us to stay in Georgia at their headquarters for 3 months. From September-November other racers and I will be living in our tents on 40 acres of land in Gainsville, Georgia. We will go home for the holidays and if borders are open we will be leaving to go on the field at the beginning of January. As they announced the plans for Gap year 2020 we were given 4 options.
1) Go to Georgia for 3 months, stay with the same squad, and depart in January
2) Stay home for a semester and go on World Race semesters in January until June, but with a whole new squad
3) Defer to Gap year 2021
4) Drop out of the race and decide to do something else
Without a doubt, I already knew my decision as soon as they announced the change of plans… I’M STAYING IN GEORGIA FOR 3 MONTHS!!!!! This was such an easy decision for me because If God called me to be going on the World Race during my sophomore year of high school I wasn’t going to back out just because the plans shifted because my focus never once did. I am confident that this is where the lord needs me to be. It is where I was meant to be whether I was going to be across the world at the beginning of September, or now a 3-hour drive from my home town. Trust in the lord because at the end of the day he is the one who knows what your next step is going to be, what opportunity you’re going to be given, and what tomorrow holds.
I’ve been learning that planning is a waste of time now, and I mean that in a good way. Don’t plan your life 40 years down the road, take it day by day. We don’t know what tomorrow brings. We don’t know what could change from now to next year. Ask yourself each morning when you wake up “what can I do to make today a day a good day” or “what actions can I take to make progress?” As I mentioned before, I speak for most of us when I say some situations are just out of our hands, we cannot control it. Don’t regret what you did yesterday, don’t worry or stress about tomorrow, Focus on today. Be a world changer today, take a deep breath because you were blessed to see another day.
I cannot WAIT to share more details to come!!! Thank you for following me along my journey, we are just now getting started:)
