For some reason, “you only live once” (YOLO) has become our catchphrase here in Guatemala…here are a few YOLO moments from the past 2 months:
– Is this water safe to drink?
– What is this fruit? Should we eat it?
– Ice cream twice in one day!
– I haven’t showered in 15 days (*cough* Jacob) …
– Holding random cute animals in the dump
– There’s jellyfish in the ocean? YOLO! *dives in*
– (After getting stung by a jellyfish) should someone pee on it?
– Taking a shower outside in a thunderstorm
– Waiting to cross the street…YOLO! And take off running…
– Playing basketball against 6 huge guys at the park
– Holding a baby who keeps spitting up on you…
– Trying to speak Spanish and failing miserably…
– Riding the Zipper at the fair
– Jumping into a freezing cold waterfall
– Hiking literally straight up a mountain for an hour…
Most “YOLO” moments are quite silly most of the time, and we all really enjoy re-telling funny moments and favorite memories from the past two months. But if I’m being honest, I think "YOLO" sums up a lot of things that I’ve learned on this trip. Not necessarily, “you only live once, so go crazy and hope you live to tell about it” but more like: I’m only here for 2 months, and I don’t want to get home and regret not stepping out in faith, or taking an opportunity to be bold just because I was scared or too afraid of failing. I only have one chance, and if I don’t take it, I’ve missed an opportunity to grow, or to see God move in a way I’ve never experienced before. God gives us choices for a reason – He gives us opportunities to choose in, and make decisions in faith all the time. I’ve realized we really have the opportunity to make choices a lot more often than we recognize. We have the ability to wake up every day and choose joy. The way we feel is not based on circumstance. We have the power to choose to feel oppressed or choose to be joyful. It’s that simple. We also have opportunities to make bigger choices, like should I go to college or spend 9 months in 3 different countries learning about God and who He says I am? Or what should I do with my life now that God has wrecked my heart for the nations and given me a heart for international missions? Should I stick with what’s familiar or should I jump out into the unknown and trust what God has for me?
"We may not have much control over our environment, where we are born, or what family we are born into, but what we do have a choice in we should seize, not take for granted. Decisions are an honor God bestowed to us saying “I trust you.” Our problem a lot of the time isn’t that we haven’t heard God…it’s that we don’t trust when we have. We are so caught up with wanting a burning bush, or to hear God’s audible voice speaking through a mega phone in the sky that we remain immobile asking for “confirmation” for the sixth time instead of seeing the passions God has given us are for us to take action." – Rachael Metzger (http://www.livingonlovetour.blogspot.com/)
For some reason I don’t trust myself nearly as much as I thought I did. I guess I’ve always had this strong desire to excel at everything, and I have a fear of making a mistake or letting someone down. So when a decision carries the possibility of letting God down, I become terrified of choosing something outside of His will. But here’s the thing…God doesn’t work that way. If we are walking with Him, and loving Him – there is no wrong choice. As much as I would want it to be simply black and white, right or wrong – it’s just not. The thing is, if we’re in love with God, our passions line up with His passions. His desires become our desires. When His heart breaks, so does ours. When He smiles, so do we. That’s such a beautiful thing. God gives us passions for a reason – so stop waiting for an audible voice to call you to action and just GO! After all, you only live once! 🙂
