The World Race Huh?

Hi friends! I want to share with y’all a little bit about how I ended up on the World Race and why I think it is exactly where I am supposed to be right now.

If you would have asked me 6 months ago where I saw myself in a year, this would have been the last place. If no one has ever told you, let me be the first… God has a sense of humor and a good one at that! I have always known what was coming next in my life. I grew up playing competitive basketball year round and not much changed when I got to high school. I went to a small school where we all played all the sports so it was always one sport season to the next. I got big into golf in high school and had to ability to play in college. My whole life has been school and sports, one season to the next, nothing ever really changed. I went to school for business marketing and finished with an MBA. I convinced myself that this was the place for me because it was the only college avenue I could think of that even somewhat interested me. At the end of last year as graduation was nearing and I was about to be a retired athlete, for the first time ever I had literally no idea what was next and that terrified me. I tried to tell myself I was ready to move to a big city and find a killer sales job and make tons of money, but everything I could think of felt so unfulfilling and not where I was supposed to be. I felt stuck and scared because my cushion of control was slipping away from me. In the midst of all this I found myself as far from the Lord as I had ever been, I had lost myself and was living in a way that I am not proud of. This is right where the Lord met me though and while it hasn’t been easy, it has been so cool to see Him moving in my life and leading me here even though I was running the opposite way of Him. I had a really amazing friend who really helped pull me out of my mess and brought me into community like I have never known and this sparked my desire to be all in for Jesus and finally surrender to Him completely instead of just going through the motions.

Now, I am not too keen on change or surprises but that is all I’ve known for the past several months and I wouldn’t change a thing because the change and surprise is where God has met me and shown Himself to me in profound ways that I have never known. One of those surprises, the part you’ve all been waiting for, is this! The World Race has been on my radar for several years and I have always liked the idea of going on a mission trip but I never actually saw myself doing it, especially not for a full year! Then out of the blue one day the Lord put this trip on my heart through a girl who I can’t even say I knew other than we had mutual friends (we’re friends now though ;)). The second I looked into the race I was hooked. 11 months shocks or intimidates most people, and it would have for me too not long ago but now it couldn’t be more perfect. It is the act of surrender that I have been longing for, not to mention the opportunity to get to be learning and doing hands on ministry all over the world. It also fulfills the one passion I can say I’ve always had and that is to travel. I have always hated the question “what do you want to do when you grow up” because I truly never knew. I would tell people, “I don’t know, I just want to travel.” That just goes to show how the Lord knows us and loves us and He is faithful to use the things that we love in our lives! I know this is the journey I am supposed to be on because I have so much peace about it. Like I mentioned earlier, I was trying so hard to just go be in the business world and make lots of money because that’s what I went to school for but nothing ever felt or even sounded right. But this, this is not my doing, I couldn’t have orchestrated anything so beautifully. This is on God and I praise Him for it and I am so so SO stoked to see what this next year and a half has in store and where it leads me and how the Lord is going to work in and through me and my squad. I am super expectant and I can’t wait to share more as I prepare for the trip and especially once we’re on the field!

You are loved.

xoxo Tay <3