I read something fascinating this weekend.
In the mid 1950's there was a worldwide determination to run the world's first "four
minute mile" (which is about 1.6km). Up until that point, it had never been
done. In fact people had said that it was impossible to do. Anyone who ran a mile in less than four minutes was said to be likely to die. Then, in 1954,
something very interesting happened. Roger Bannister ran four miles in a time
of 3:59.4, and in the same year two other runners from two different continents
also beat the four minute barrier. It seems like people were just waiting for
the first person to reach the milestone before everyone realized it was
possible.
I come from a very educated family. My
extended family consists, mostly, of engineers, accountants, doctors, and teachers. I'm
very proud to be a part of this calibre. I have been taught about life in a specific way, and I've seen how successful it can be through my family. However,
deciding to go be a missionary out of this upbringing scares me, because it's
something I've never seen or been taught. In fact, in my mind, it often seems
like something impossible to do.
I've learnt, though, that the first time you
try something is the hardest. After that, you've seen that it can be done and
the whole impossible task suddenly seems so much less daunting. I remember the
first walk I took into Windsor (an area filled with drug dealers and poverty).
It seemed so scary, and I had to override my mind's resistance the whole way in. Every
time since then, however, it's a natural and easy thing to do. The first time I
spoke on stage at youth, I was so scared looking at all the people who were
waiting to listen to me. Now, even though I still get very nervous before hand,
I keep calm on stage, because I've done it before, and survived.
It does take courage to do something for the
first time, but just because you've never done it before, doesn't mean that it
can't be done. Sometimes we have to challenge our own mind, and beat our own
thoughts if we want to grow. Most often we are our biggest opposition to growth.
2 Corinthians speaks about taking each thought captive, because often it is our own thoughts that restrict us.
I hope I can be like Roger Bannister,
strictly training myself and pushing through the psychological barriers to
achieve the impossible. I find that I need to beat myself to believe that I can be a missionary to the street kids of Brazil.
Every month that passes by is a month closer to me leaving South Africa, and everything I've ever known. I don't know how it will work out, but I know that I'm going to do it. Again, having your support does make this impossible seem a lot less fatal.