On the World Race we have something that we do called feedback. It is a time of encouragement and calling each other higher; it can be serious or funny, said or in song, literal or metaphorical. My favorite kind of feedback is food feedback, where we think of what foods we remind each other of and why.
This creative form of encouragement speaks to me differently than regular feedback, and I can’t explain why. One day my team and I were doing food feedback, and I got that I am like rainbow sprinkles: fun, colorful, likable, and sweet. And as I sit here reflecting on the past month in Kosovo, I realize that rainbow sprinkles is exactly what God has been speaking.
I came on the World Race a bit serious and skeptical. I was still Hannah, but the grown up version of her. I had lost touch of my child-like self: the Hannah that climbs trees, is super clumsy, and has a cheesy humor. I was so focused on what I could “get done” that I had forgotten the accumulation of experiences that makes me, me.
Jesus offers us life, and life to the full. So I started asking myself: If this isn’t abundant life, then what is it?!
Through a series of spontaneous adventures including crazy provision, fulfilled visions, and continuous answered prayers, God has started to take my hands off the steering wheel. He has reconnected me with my child-like self, and taught me how to have fun again.
When I asked God what He loves about me He told me He loves my boldness and spontaneity. He loves that I can walk into a completely foreign country and knock on random doors without fear. If we need a place to stay, I don’t think twice about it working out because I know He will come through. I’m learning that a lot of the things I thought were naivety are actually just trust.
I have been unintentionally ignoring all the things that make life great. The small flower about to bloom, the old lady kissing the Bible that we gave her, holding a homeless woman in my arms five minutes after we met. God has showed me that I was seeing him, myself, and his people in black and white; now, I’m seeing in color.
I am Hannah. I lose things all the time. I struggle with multitasking and I swear I’m a grandma with technology. I love the game Phase 10, climbing trees, and dancing. Meeting new people and exploring new places makes me feel alive. My strengths and weaknesses, perspectives and stances, desires and dreams are all unique to me.
Life is fun and life is messy. Life is just a bunch of broken humans trying to figure this thing out. On this journey I pray that I can show others that Christianity isn’t a religion, it’s finding true life. It’s letting go of the trust you have in yourself, and feeling weights lift off one by one.
