I am not a blogger, but my mom always says that the number one rule of writing is to write what you know, so here’s what I know….

I know that these past two weeks of training camp have been DIFFICULT. Not the kind of difficult that I used to think was difficult, but the sleep-in-a-tent-every-night-while-it’s-pouring, live-with-40-people-you’ve-only-known-for-a-few-days, never-have-dry-clothes, eat-weird-foods, total-physical/mental/emotional-exhaustion-every-day kind of difficult.

Basically, adjusting to this new “World Race Life” has proven to be a way bigger challenge than I could have imagined.

But here’s another thing that I know: The mental, physical, and especially the spiritual challenges I am facing are bending and breaking me into a new shape. Estella (Charles Dickens’ character from Great Expectations) was the first person to say that, but when she said it, she was only hopeful that she was being bent and broken into something better. I don’t have to hope, because I already know that I am. I am being bent in ways I didn’t know were possible, and I am being broken to some staggering extremes, but I am already seeing the better shape begin to take form.

That’s something that I know.

Here are a few more things that I know:

We should never underestimate Jesus. When He says He will never leave us or forsake us, He means it.

Prayer works miracles.

We need community more than we think we do, especially the kind who pushes us to be the best version of ourselves.

It’s good to have our perspectives challenged. Even (and maybe even especially) our perspectives about God.

This is not going to be an easy journey (she said, soaking wet, smelling like a dead animal, and utterly depleted of mental and physical stamina) but it is a necessary one, and there is so much more for me to learn if I’m willing.

Oh, and here’s one last thing I know: I will never again complain about the weather in my hometown (Yuma, AZ) from here on out. #georgiahumidity #iykyk

“I have been bent and broken, but—I hope—into a better shape.” Charles Dickens, Great Expectations