“Go Run”
It’s story time. And it starts with a road sign. A street sign, to be exact.
Recently, a friend commented on my street name, “Go Run,” and its prophetic implications. I’ve been pondering this ever since. Interestingly enough, it took over 4 years for our neighborhood to actually get the “Go Run” sign – and I saw it for the first time last week, when I went to check my mail.
Shortly after that, I asked the Lord, “What do you want me to know about ‘Go Run?’” Within a few minutes, He brought revelation…
This time twelve years ago, I was packing up my life to move halfway across the world. I had no idea what awaited, yet supernatural peace and genuine anticipation marked every bit of the transition. One year in Rwanda turned into five – seven total years dedicated to Bridge2Rwanda. It was my dream job, which made it really hard to step away. But when the end was near, I knew.
Returning to the states was no small feat. Up until then, visiting for holidays and summers was easy—because I had a home—and it was Rwanda. But once I re-established a life in Nashville, the “hardness” hit. Straddling two continents for over two years was more difficult than anticipated. When I sensed the end of that particular season was near, I had no idea what to do. “How would life ever be this good again?” I asked myself often. I doubted. I was short-sighted. At times, I was even hopeless.
Six years ago in mid-May, I was laying on my couch in Nashville, drifting in and out of sleep, as I talked to God. I so badly needed to see from His perspective. I needed direction. I needed encouragement. I felt stuck beyond stuck. Then all of a sudden, I had a vision/dream – one of those experiences you just can’t make up.
I saw myself lying on the ground, lifeless. A great cloud of witnesses surrounded me – people I didn’t know that well and others I didn’t know at all. But I could feel we were family, that we were on the same team. Four people, in particular, stood out: my grandparents. They told me to get up and keep running my race, that I have more living to do, that there IS more ahead. They had the biggest and most beautiful smiles on their faces. Proud of me and so excited to cheer for me in the future spaces and places God would take me. I sensed deep in my spirit that they could see some things I couldn’t. They could see greater glory ahead, in a story that was far from being done.
As I reflect on this 6 years later, I smile. I had no idea what God was just beginning to start in my family around that time. But my grandparents did. And they knew it was gonna be good! The race was not over. It was just getting started.
As the months unfolded, more shifting took place. Inner healing, coaching training, job applications, etc. And then everything changed in 2020. Sure, there was Covid. But what God was up to in my own life was eternally marking. In April 2020, I took a job at a charter school in Nashville. May 15th was my last day at Bridge2Rwanda; it was anticlimactic, to say the least. I couldn’t stop crying on that Friday. Seven years of my life DONE. Sure, it was time. But hope for a bright future, as good as the B2R days, was hardly a glimmer. Unexpectedly, I heard a whisper: “Go for a bike ride.” (In a previous Nashville season, I often rode a 26 mile greenway path but hadn’t since I moved away in 2013.) So I was obedient to the Holy Spirit’s idea and peddled away. I thought it was just to get some fresh air and exercise. Little did I know that He was going to lead me to my future neighborhood. The greenway path had slightly changed, and I noticed a new connector trail. I was curious! Where might it lead?! Well, not only to the Cornelia Fort Airpark but also to a neighborhood: “East Greenway Park.” Families were grilling together in the common space, and it was evident that parts of it were still under construction. For a while, I had been pushing back on the idea of buying a house as a single woman. But this neighborhood felt different. There was a peace on it. My realtor and I visited 2 days later. And the following weekend, God provided a plot of land. On GO RUN.
Much of the past 4 years of inhabiting my house has been “hidden” – just like our street was “hidden” with no road sign. I’ve learned that hidden seasons are priceless seasons: hard in some aspects and beautiful in others. Not only was the house given in a season of transition but it has housed me amidst some profound spiritual formation. Mostly underground. As I’ve been practicing what it looks like to run—from rest, from health, ultimately from the place of God’s Presence.
I’m grateful that my stint at Bridge2Rwanda was not the final race. And I’m grateful that I’m up and running again. There will always be more ahead, from one season into the next, from one degree of glory to another. Now is the time—to truly GO & RUN! As a FORERUNNER. For family, for freedom, for life, for love, for joy.