Goodbye World Race. Hello New Adventure.

It was October 6, 2021 and I was in Sarande, Albania, hanging out with my Beloved (Jesus) at our favorite spot. It was this cement dock that overlooked the Ionian Sea with a Greek island in the distance. We’d go there everyday to take in the sunrise and bask in the stillness of an early morning by the sea.

On this particular morning, I was feeling extra safe, secure, and loved in my Beloved’s arms, so I started dreaming with Him about the future. It was a quick moment really. All I did was whisper to Him, “I want the unpredictable, uncomfortable, narrow road, supernatural, beyond human understanding life. I want to live out of the box.”

Well, He made that dream a reality 7 months later in Yerevan, Armenia when He had Chris Tirado and myself fall in love with each other and then directed us to leave the race early, a step that went beyond the human understanding of Chris, myself, our squad and our leadership.

I know, I know…there’s only a month left on the race, why not wait till it’s over? Can’t you wait a month? Great question. Well, the thing is, it wasn’t even us who started our relationship.

Here’s what happened:

I was minding my own business…

… seeking God’s kingdom and His righteousness. Sure, I hung out with Chris here and there as a teammate, but that’s all I saw him as for most of the race. Then, one day in Tbilisi, Georgia, toward the end of March, Holy Spirit stirred my heart and I started to see Chris as more than just a friend. At first, I thought it was the enemy trying to distract me from whatever God had for me in the last two months of the race.

God had other plans…

After some time, God made it clear it wasn’t the enemy. You see, I did everything I could to keep distance between us, and everytime, God would put us in the same taxi, make us partner together for ministry, and He even put us on the same team again (we were on a team together from January to March and got put on the same team again when teams changed in April).

When I accepted it was God, I was determined to keep it to myself until the race was over. I didn’t want to distract Chris from his race, and I didn’t want to distract or hurt the team we were on.

God continued to lead me on His path of surrender

As our new team hit the ground running in Armenia, God continued to put Chris and I together. I was kind of annoyed to be honest. It takes a lot of energy to stay focused and on mission when you like someone, and it doesn’t make it any easier when you’re constantly around them.

Every day for a month, I committed my heart into God’s hands, and counted on Him to carry me through. I thought God would steady out my heart, but He did the opposite: God deepened my love for Chris to the point where I couldn’t carry it on my own anymore. I finally opened up to my team leader, and she was a great person to talk to and pray with.

Soon after talking with her, I prayed a dangerous prayer during my quiet time: “God, I am willing to bear this until the end of the race. But I also know your ways are not my ways and sometimes the way you work goes beyond my understanding. God, if you want to start something with Chris on the race, you have my yes. I surrender to your timing, to your higher ways.”

My “Yes” was all that God was waiting for

Literally, 24 hours after my prayer, Chris’s eyes opened and God melted his heart for me. We got to spend the day together, and by the end of it, we both shared that we love each other. WILD, right?!

Ushered from One Season to the Next

After a few days of soaking in what God was doing, God led us to do a 3 day water fast together. God used that fast to make it clear to us that we weren’t supposed to hide our relationship. There’s a no-dating fellow world racers policy, and it was tempting to keep things a secret for the rest of the race. But, God’s the author of our story. He was the one who started it all, and what He started wasn’t something to hide.

When we brought our relationship to leadership, God used them to make it clear to us that He wanted us to leave the World Race early. The way God went before us and worked everything out is another story in itself, but He went above and beyond to help us close our World Race season well.

On May 11, 2022 Chris and I left for Raleigh, North Carolina and we’ve been hanging around the East Coast since.

The Wind Blows Where it Wishes

Right now our goals are resting and getting to know each other more. We’re aiming to visit friends and family, but we’re taking it day by day. We don’t have a lot of plans, but God likes it like that because He has us in a John 3:8 kind of a season:

“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

God’s only showing us step-by-step right now, so we don’t know a whole lot of where we’re going and what we’re doing. God’s been so faithful in both of our lives though, and we know we’re in good hands. Is it hard with all of the unknowing? A little. But how many people get to live “a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day” kind of a season and have God that close? That part has been epic.

Thank You

Now that I am on the other side of my World Race experience, I am all the more grateful for everyone who supported me to make this adventure happen.

Thanks to your support, I was able to obey God’s call, and I was able to receive the gift God had waiting for me at the end. When I think about you all, I just get this image of each of you helping to put wrapping paper on the gift and tying a beautiful bow around it.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Just thank you.

Staying Connected

While my World Race journey is over, God’s just getting started with the story He’s writing with my life and Chris’s life. I’d love to continue sharing what God is doing with you on Instagram, so follow me there to stay connected:

@life_is_b3autiful

 

Final Greetings

I now have all I need—more than enough—I’m abundantly satisfied! For I’ve received the gift you sent… and viewed it as a sweet sacrifice, perfumed with the fragrance of your faithfulness, which is so pleasing to God!

I am convinced that my God will fully satisfy every need you have, for I have seen the abundant riches of glory revealed to me through Jesus Christ!

And God our Father will receive all the glory and the honor throughout the eternity of eternities! Amen!

Give my warm greetings to all the believers in Christ Jesus. [Chris and I] send our loving greetings…. May the grace and favor of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit!

(Philippians 4:18-23 TPT)

<3

Natalie