I Hated Training Camp

I hated my World Race Training Camp.  

It was cold, we never got enough to eat, and I was surrounded (and intimidated) by so many people that I didn’t know.  

I missed home and everything that was comfortable and familiar to me.  If I couldn’t survive a week in Georgia then how was I about to travel to 11 countries in a year? That whole week I was riddled with anxiety and doubt about this journey I was about to embark on.   

Praises that the Lord took me through such a journey on my race! He taught me so much about the daughter that I am and all that he wants to give me.  But I still carried with me these bad memories from training camp and how I was so glad I would never have to do it again.  

So last week when I volunteered to help with this summer’s training, I was curious to see how it would go.  Would it give me flashbacks to my own?  Were there people like me who were struggling with fear and the need to fit in? 

The first night I stood in the crowded room and surveyed the racers worshiping and praising the Lord.  As I watched their closed eyes and lifted hands I saw what had been missing from my own.     

Joy.  Enthusiasm.  An eagerness to go into the World.  

At my training camp I was so overwhelmed with fear and anxiety that I forgot what I was doing there in the first place.  How different would my experience have been if I had just let go of control and trusted the Lord to take care of me?  

How often do I still not trust Him to have my good in mind? 

As I watched this new generation of racers prepare to go into the world I was reminded of how much the Lord wants to bless us.  How in anything we choose to do for Him, He will take care of us and provide for our needs.  We don’t need to struggle with the fear of being liked, the loss of control, or the unknown of the next season.   

Don’t miss out on what could be amazing experiences because of fear and anxiety but stand firm knowing that the Lord will take care of you.    

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” – Romans 8:28