Dare to Dream

Do you ever have those dreams that seem so incredible until you stop and think "hold up, that's way too cool for me"??

Yeah, me too. Until it came true just a few short years later.

College was rough for a dreamer like me, so I traveled to cope. I traveled and experienced so many people and cultures during my summers to get me through the long, drawn out struggle-bus that the 20+ credit hours had to offer.

I remember dreaming about how I loved missions, but how difficult it would be to commit to just one place. How cool would it be to participate in multicultural travel, long-term?

"No, that doesn't exist.” I thought. “Too good to be true."

I remember in 2014 taking a trip to Colorado with some of my best friends and discovering that those dreams, in fact, were not too good to be true. The World Race presented itself to me in a beautifully wrapped package, but I pushed it away quickly with thoughts like "that's way too cool for me."

One year later I applied, got accepted and in turn opened up that beautifully wrapped package like it was Christmas morning.

The World Race is a mission’s trip that travels to 11 countries over the course of 11 months. The Race changed me in many more ways than just one. I used to be cynical towards vulnerability, I viewed it as weakness, but the Race made it kinda sexy. Like, it didn’t stop at becoming something that was appealing, it grew to become a part of me that I craved, and now it's practically natural. The Race surrounded me with a community of real, raw people who were just like me in so many ways. The things I struggled with, dreamed about, loved, hated; the Race brought us all together, sat us down and said, "Hey, look! Here's a bunch of people who deal with the many of the same things you deal with."

Not to get all nostalgic and cliché on you, but we became a family. They're my #squadgoals for life. Shout out to my J-squad (4th generation for all you alumni racers reading.)

For some of my racer friends, like me, this was a dream come true. For others, it was a sacrificial step in the right direction for their lives. But for every single one of us, we did the unthinkable. We all doubted our abilities at some point or another and proved our doubts wrong. We faced fear head on and did the thing. We ran outside our comfort zones and abandoned things we never could have imagined we could live without (target, chick-fil-a, toilet paper. Like for real y'all, this isn't a joke.)

The best part is, we are not a bunch of prodigies. We aren't aliens. We live unfiltered lives. We are real life human beings who prayed a lot, put some skin in the game and made shit happen. We are just a bunch of kids who are willing to do some hard work.

But we are living proof that dreams don't have to be distant. Dreams don't have to stay in your head. They don't have to be that itch that can't be scratched or that impossible thing that can't be done.

They can be real.

So the Race was my dream for a long time. And I've asked my fellow Race community to talk about their experiences in living this life. I've asked them to talk about their thoughts on upcoming transitions, while some of them are in the midst of transition. I've asked them to talk about their fears, their failures and their victories. I've asked them to talk about their lives with unfiltered vulnerability. I've asked them to talk about their dreams and how those dreams became real and tangible. I've asked them to take part in the Collective in hopes that as you read their words, you'll be inspired and maybe even experience some "me too" moments.

Halfway through my Race one of my leaders posed the question “What is your immeasurably more?” That was the defining moment when I realized I had stopped dreaming because I started living it out on the Race. I panicked for a small season. But in the midst of that season is when I began to dream about The Redwoods Collective.

This space, The Redwoods Collective, this is my next step. This is my dream. This is my "immeasurably more than you can dream or imagine." Within it I want to create a space of belonging. For me, that is the greatest and most beautiful part about community.

I have this fear ringing in the back of my head, "what if it's a flop? What if no one cares, what if no one sees the vision or supports the dream, what if people get cynical?"

But I'm willing to bet that you have an incredible story. I think you have words in your heart and your soul that are just screaming to be let out. I think deep down you don't want to feel alone and you want to experience those "me too" moments.

So this is our space. This is the next step for both of us. This is my ongoing dream, the "pt. 2" of my immeasurably more, if you will. I'm here to tell you that big things can happen in your life, because they’ve happened in mine and in so many others in my community. And I'm willing to bet big things have already happened in your life too.

This is an open invitation, welcome to The Redwoods Collective. The dream won't come true if we don't share our story and get connected. This is my dream that you will believe in this space and share. As you share your stories, others will believe in your words and become inspired to share their own.

Don't be afraid. Keep dreaming and keep talking about it. Let's learn from the Redwoods and get connected so we can stand stronger.

Let's tell our stories.

“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to Him be all the glory.”

Ephesians 3:20

PS If you want to read more about my experience on the World Race, click here!