What is the longest the Lord has taken to get back to you on something? Big or small, short term or long term- how long did it take for you to get an answer from Him? For Jesus to say, “See kid, I told you I had it all worked out.” That answer for me is easy. 5 years. The longest it took for me to see the Lords hand in my life, the longest it took for me to see His provision and the path He'd laid out was 5 years. That is how long I’ve had the World Race Gap Year either pinned on my Safari, tucked in my messages or written out on my notes app. Just so I wouldn’t forget this one-off thing my youth pastor and his wife mentioned to me in 8th grade at dinner when I felt the calling to be a missionary. How insane is that!!

When I look back throughout those 5 years, I can see God’s hand through it all. Without a doubt they were the hardest years of my life. But every single situation, every single hardship I faced left me marked with wisdom and an acute understanding that otherwise I wouldn’t have known. And I know that every hardship I encountered was only the lining of the passageway for this next chapter. The friend situations I dealt with will only help me connect with my teammates more. The depression and anxiety I faced will only allow me to encourage and empathize on a deeper level. The spiritual warfare I was thrown into has only given me grit and an strong awareness of the spiritual world and how much more powerful the God of the universe is in comparison to anything else. Every single situation I faced during those 5 years, every “why God?” every “I’m tired and I can’t go on”, every single one of those moments was in preparation for the yes He laid out for me.

And that is my why. That is why I am so excited, elated, and ecstatic to go serve the Lord. Because people need to know that there is a God out there controlling every situation. There is a Savior that takes every bad situation, every evil thing and ultimately uses it for good. People need to know that when they’re too weak to stand on their own, there is someone standing right beside them, being their crutch. My why is because for 5 years the Lord was refining me, shaping me, pushing and stretching me (sometimes to my limits) for this exact moment. For this exact time. And the joy and complete adoration for Him, and that He fills me with when I think “He chose me? He waited this long- for me? He was so detailed- with me? He planned every second of every hour- for me?” Is so overwhelming that I can’t help but want that for others. Because people need to know that there is a God who can’t wait for the day you meet Him. Can’t wait for the day you find your true Father, your Heavenly Father, so that life can be so much sweeter. Maybe not easier- I know that it didn’t get easier for me once I met Him- it really only got harder. But there is such sweetness in the knowledge that someone meticulously planned out every detail in your life just so that one day, you would find Him. And that once you find Him, He never goes away. And just because you haven’t found Him doesn’t mean He isn’t waiting for you to open your eyes and come looking. My why is because if me- a broken sinner who doesn’t deserve anything- can find Jesus, be radically changed in ways I never expected, and had that planned all along by the one who created the heavens and the earths, then how much more can He change the next person? How much more can He meet them, and flip their life upside down. How much more? That is my why. Because Jesus is for everyone, and everyone needs Him. And it would be a disservice to not share with the world that the best thing EVER, the realest thing EVER, the most satisfying thing EVER, the most addicting thing EVER, was just one prayer away. One “yes” away. How could I have something so good and not want to share it?