Distracted

Month 3 (March) in Cusco, Peru was definitely my most difficult month on the World Race, at least out of the 5 months that I have experienced thus far. At first, I was super excited because I found out that my team and I would be staying at a hostel in the heart of the tourist area in Cusco which meant that we would have access to good food, a nice living space, and most importantly, good Wi-Fi. We received many a warning at training camp and launch about how we need to be very careful about how much we use Wi-Fi because if we are running to Wi-Fi to comfort/distract us when we are missing home or frustrated with our team or whatever it may be, then we are missing out on a chance to grow! This was a lesson that I had to learn for myself though.

During our time in Cusco, we had a lot of down time because the only ministry we had was 3 hours each day at an after-school program. This meant that we had quite a bit of time each day to do whatever was best for us. We were in a very Westernized setting and so I was excited to have the opportunity to test how I would respond to going back to America after everything I had learned the previous 2 months in Colombia and Ecuador. One thing you should know is that March is one of my favorite months of the year because of the NCAA Tournament. Now I wasn’t able to watch the games, but I was obsessed with following what was happening. Combine that with the fact that Illinois was searching for a new basketball head coach and I couldn’t stop checking to see if there were any new developments. On top of that, because we didn’t have a lot of ministry I was getting kind of antsy and my team was really getting on my nerves. I didn’t want anything to do with them really, and I just wanted to escape back into my room and follow the latest news on the tournament, or the coaching search, or Cubs spring training; anything but more team time! I missed my family and friends and so I reached out to them instead of reaching out to my team. Now don’t get me wrong; there were some excellent things that came from having Wi-Fi too. I was able to take some online Bible courses, I was able to research the questions I had while reading the Bible, and I was able to reconnect with some of my family and friends who I hadn’t gotten the chance to text or email in the first 2 months. Even though it wasn’t always a positive experience, I am grateful that I slipped back into being distracted by Wi-Fi because I can clearly see that I need to work on that if I want to make sure that God remains my top priority when I get home.

As we were traveling from Peru to Cote D’Ivoire, I had a lot of time to reflect on my month in Peru and what I had learned. My struggles with self-discipline around Wi-Fi usage helped me to see what I really prioritize, and it wasn’t always God. Before we left Peru, I downloaded a bunch of podcasts/sermons for the flights and one was entitled “Sports and the Gospel” by David Platt. I listened to that sermon and it really challenged me to consider what I truly prioritize in my life; I knew that if I was being honest with myself then the proper assessment of my priorities for the vast majority of my life would be Sports > God. Sports are an incredible gift from God, but I realized that whether I said it or not Sports had become more than a gift to me; they had become something that I worshipped and obsessed over. So during my time in Cote D’Ivoire, I chose to take a break from sports for the entire month, which is something I never would have dreamed of doing in a million years before coming on the Race. It really helped me to put things back into perspective, realize what is really important, and spend a lot more time with God!

My point in all this is twofold. One, it is just to say to future racers or whoever is interested that the World Race isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, but some of the greatest learning opportunites come from the struggles. And two is just to challenge you who are reading this blog. Are there any things that you worship and obsess over that take time away from God? I have seen God move in mighty ways so far on my Race and I firmly believe that it is only because, by the grace of God, I was able to leave the distractions/comforts that keep us from giving God 100%. In Peru, I was too distracted by the NCAA tournament and other sports happenings, and as a result I had a month where I didn’t feel like I grew as much in my relationship with God as I did the first two months. I know that when I get back to America there will be things that I need to prune back so that I can make the necessary space for my relationship with God to continue to grow. However, it doesn’t take a mission trip to do that, and so I would encourage you to evaluate your life honestly and make sure you are providing your relationship with God the necessary space to grow! God Bless You!