My team and I listened to a podcast from Passion City Church by Louie Giglio called “The Dash.” The main purpose was to discuss the fact that when a tombstone is made on our behalf, we have three pieces of information: the start date, the dash, and the end date. The dash is all we really know, barring any symbols or extra words, about the person’s life yet it is the most important part of all. It summarizes what that person did during their time on Earth.
Louie talked about a number of things during the podcast but what stuck out to me most was when he referenced lyrics from a well-known and current song. The lyrics went a little something like “TURN DOWN FOR WHAT???” The meaning behind that, for those who don’t know, is to ask why turn down the volume? Why stop the party? Turn it down for what reason? TURN DOWN FOR WHAT? It’s a phrase that has become more popular and I really like it, not because I’m big into parties (Disney movie marathons maybe) but because I want to apply it to my lifestyle.
What does that look like? What part of my lifestyle do I want to be asking the question of TURN DOWN FOR WHAT? Honestly, all of it, provided that it reflects the image I’m hoping for. That is to say, as long as I am reflecting an image of Christ that may seem a bit radical. Something I’ve learned throughout my process of deciding to go on the World Race is that many thought I should turn down the volume on this crazy idea. The logical solution for me would have been to go to nursing school but the volume of the party where God was calling me to something greater couldn’t have been turned down. I didn’t need to ask the question because God was yelling “TURN DOWN FOR WHAT?” on my behalf. This all sounds well and good but the World Race isn’t always a crazy party full of amazing experiences and growth. In fact, the World Race sucks.
The World Race sucks… expectation out of you. A better way to say that is it reveals expectations that you had that weren’t met and reminds you constantly to not have any. I walked into the Race claiming that I had no expectations, even wrote that in one of my earlier blogs, but I was so wrong. It didn’t take me long to learn that I had some because I was shocked by the freezing temperature of our first month in Bolivia. I’ve been disappointed with certain things on the Race simply because I had a subconscious expectation that ultimately did not get met. A word of advice, you think you don’t have expectations, but you really do. The World Race will teach you to either not have any, or if you end up disappointed you swallow that almost immediately and accept with enthusiasm whatever your month has in store.
The World Race sucks…insecurities from your life. The nature of the Race is to help you grow and to not return as the same person that you were when you left the comfort of your own home, family, and friends. To ensure that growth happens, there is a system in place called feedback. Teams meet daily for a time of feedback where other members of the team can bring up both positive and constructive observations. Everyone likes giving positive but constructive is a tough pill to swallow. It is, however, the very thing that has made me grow because it usually speaks towards insecurities. I’ve gotten feedback on a number of occasions that has to do with confidence whether it be with how I verbally deliver things or just my daily life. That lack of confidence is a symptom of insecurities. Just when you think you’ve uncovered the last of your insecurities, the Lord pushes aside another layer to reveal many more. It may sound exhausting, and it is sometimes, but it is so worth it.
The World Race sucks…your ability to see the world the same way. We hear it constantly, God has such big plans for our lives. The thing is, society has strong expectations for what the best approach to the future is for this generation. We are living in a time where the older generation has less knowledge on a subject than the youth. That subject is technology. It’s not like I’ve lived a long time but it feels like there has never been such a disconnect between generations. Our generation is impatient and we can be that way because we are able to walk around with the internet in the palm of our hands. We don’t have to wait to find out the answer to a question, or ask someone older and wiser to explain as frequently. Knowledge and wisdom have dropped in value because of these things. It leads to a lack of respect from the younger generation to the older in terms of reverence for more life lived and a lack of understanding of exactly what the younger generation is going through with technology and the way society is now. Both parties need to find a happy medium but I am going to speak first to the older generation. If your children come to you with this crazy idea of the World Race, don’t roll your eyes or lay on too much disapproval. To be honest, your future Racer will have matured about ten years in the space of one if they are digging in to what the Lord has to offer on this journey. It will be impossible for them to see the world the same after what they will have experienced. They will have a better concept of how fortunate and blessed they are. They will have a greater respect for their relationships because they will have spent time re-building and strengthening them. Younger generation, do not hesitate to take this opportunity. It may seem crazy now but it is far superior to what you may have planned for your life, or what others may have planned. If you are truly called to this, the Lord will make it work, I have no doubt. Be prepared to have the veil lifted from your eyes. It may be heartbreaking and hard but it will be so worth it. You will be a better person for having your worldview expanded and will see value in the wisdom that the older generation has.
The World Race sucks…away your comfort. Forget being away from your relational support system for nearly a year, try adding cold showers, 30 hour bus rides, long ministry days, and teammates who are with you 24/7. Your emotional, spiritual, physical, and mental comforts will all be tested and challenged while you are on the Race. Here’s the thing, the Lord called you to this, you decided to obey, and you would be disappointed if you didn’t have crazy stories to share later. It’s true, you will miss important life events such as weddings and you will miss those awesome fall football games accompanied by jeans, a comfy sweater, and Pumpkin Spice Latte, you will miss Thanksgiving and Christmas (depending on which route you choose), you won’t be able to be there for people like you’ve been in the past. Let’s call it what it is, it’s HARD. Sometimes it’s gut-wrenching to know that you will be absent for those things. The World Race will suck away your comfort, even things you didn’t realize were a comfort to you. The Race will replace that with being present for the Lord’s work, for growth, for expanding your worldview and dreams, and give you so many crazy opportunities like waking up at 5:30 AM to sit in a natural hot spring to greet the sunrise. The possibilities are endless but you have to be willing to relinquish your comfort.
The World Race sucks…away guilt and shame. Your past happened. You have things you regret, that you wish you could take back, reset, or un-do. The world, as we all know, doesn’t work like that. We keep moving forward in time, towards the end of our lives and consequently towards the end of our time on Earth to make any sort of impact. The Race has taught me that my tainted past can actually be used for good. By being willing to share what I’ve gone through, I am able to glorify God by living a piece of his redemptive love story. Unbelievers don’t want to hear about Christians who are perfect but the church doesn’t do an excellent job of creating space for people to be broken. I think many feel like it’s better to keep guilt and shame inside partly because we are afraid of the repercussions of our confessions but mainly because the enemy lies to us to keep us in his clutches. I’ve learned that by being vulnerable and sharing my struggles gives the enemy less power and further glorifies my father in heaven. In the words of Rafiki, “It doesn’t matter, it’s in the past.”
Remember the mention of “the dash” from the beginning of all of this? Well, what I hope you conclude and what I hope gets you fired up is that the World Race strips away your old self piece by piece to leave you sitting as a blank canvas prepared to live an extraordinary dash wrapped in the Father’s love. An important note to make is that I didn’t have to go on the World Race for this to happen. The Lord is using it as a tool to bring me closer to Him. You can do that from wherever you are, regardless of your circumstance if you simply ask. The World Race sucks…out the old to make way for the new. What a gloriously free “new” it is.
