Glimpses: Final World Race Blog

Hi Friends,
Welcome to my last ever World Race blog. It’s bittersweet closing this journey but I am so thankful for the opportunity and blessing that it was. As I was brainstorming final topics to share, my mind kept coming back to the word “encounter.”

A couple days ago we entered into the new year. My phone notified me that a message had come through Whatsapp from someone I didn’t recognize at first. Her name was Jennifer and she was wishing me a Happy New Year. I dug through my journal hoping to recollect and found a little excerpt I had written on the second of July.

“It’s unbelievably sweet here. Sometimes, and only sometimes, I feel like I have break-through. The world suddenly becomes a beautiful place. You’re greeted by the most beautiful sunset – on one side you’re surrounded by gorgeous mountains, on the other, it’s an ocean as far as the eyes can see. It’s as though the Lord is whispering, “ I see you, I know you and I’ve never left you. Hold on, heart.” It’s these days where I experience tangible hope, where I begin to believe that life is truly limitless and that the Lord is kind. The numbness fades and is replaced with the tinglings of a newfound beginning. The wind blows the curtains and you can’t determine where it’s coming from or where it’s going. Your soul is stirred by the man who gave you honey for free or the Kenyan woman who is here all alone, struggling with discouragement. She sees you and just your presence seems to encourage her (Jennifer). I bought a ring and a bracelet from her but I know our visit meant so much more, not just for her but for us too. It’s as though all of the clutter and chaos dissipates and for a moment, I’m staring into my savior’s eyes, wanting to give it all away.”

The journal entry took me back to the day I met Jennifer. It wasn’t a day intended for ministry. It was our day off and honestly, I couldn’t have been more thrilled. I needed a break. June and July were both beautiful and wildly challenging for me. After nearly a year of a spiritual dry spell and a lot of additional confusion in regards to my faith, I accepted the position to co-lead my team of eight on this trip to Swaziland and South Africa. Going into it, I knew it wouldn’t be the same experience I had with my original team back in 2020. I questioned God as to why I was positioned in a leadership role when my faith felt all but stable. I felt incapable of being the confident, secure leader I thought my team required. Most mornings I woke up and was extremely humbled by my desire to go right back to bed. I learned to show up when I didn’t feel like it. During the trip, I was given a couple glimpses past the spiritual desertland I was journeying through. One of them came in the person of Jennifer.

The day was warm and the South African sky was a brilliant blue color. My co-lead, Coryn, and I had decided to spend our day exploring a nearby Farmer’s Market. We approached one of the first stands and met Jennifer there. Her eyes lit up and a warm smile crossed her face as we asked her about the various pieces of jewelry she created. We learned that Jennifer’s family lived in Kenya, a country nearly 3,000 miles away. She was here in South Africa hoping to make a profit to send home to her children. She continued to share that business had been incredibly slow and she was extremely discouraged, almost to the point of closing her business and finding another means of survival. In Africa, poverty is so prevalent that ‘no business’ isn’t simply a financial setback to overcome. It could also result in a lack of food, clean water and other primary resources. Jennifer then began sharing her faith. Despite her discouragement, she had been consistently praying for a breakthrough. She believed that God was amidst what felt like a hopeless situation. Coryn and I prayed for her, encouraged her and bought a couple pieces of her jewelry. As we prepared to leave, Jennifer looked at us with tear-filled eyes and thanked us profusely for showing up that day. She said that we were the sign she needed. God had seen her situation and was actively working to turn things around in her life. I walked away completely awe-struck at the way God orchestrated our paths. I really had nothing to offer Jennifer aside from a couple coins, a prayer and a very brief encouragement. Nothing I did or said could have radically changed Jennifer’s perspective the way it did that day. Not only did God see Jennifer in her financial desert but He also saw me in my spiritual one. Jennifer’s Whatsapp text to me was a reminder of a glimpse past the spiritual dryland I was experiencing. God is actively engaged and present in our story, no matter how seemingly distant we feel He is.

If this is a season where you’re struggling spiritually or even circumstantially, I want to encourage you to press on. It isn’t easy and there will be days that are incredibly discouraging but beyond that is a God who cares deeply about you and your story. You haven’t been forgotten or abandoned but created for a purpose. As we enter into 2023, I pray you hold onto the glimpses, no matter how seemingly insignificant. They are reminders of an active, present and loving God.

With that, this blog comes to a close. Thank you so much for joining me on this adventure. In the month of February, I’ll be creating my first health related blog and posting regularly with tips & advice. If you know me well, you know that first of all, my profession is healthcare. Secondly, my own health has been a struggle for years. I’ve recently been working very hard to overcome some health related challenges and want to share that success with anyone interested. I’ll be posting the link to the blog on instagram as well as Facebook. If you don’t have social media, I’d be happy to send you a personal link via email. Just let me know that you are interested and I will send that link your way.

~Stephanie