I am so excited to feature a dear friend of mine, today: Jami Williams. You are going to be so blessed and inspired by her story and example! She is travelling the world on an eye-opening, life-changing journey to experience the true meaning of life. Bringing the hope and love of Jesus Christ to rural places, brothels, slums and the oft forgotten, Jami is getting more than she set out for. So much more.

When you picture a missionary, Jami doesn’t quite fit the stereotype. And, you’d never guess what led her to this great awakening of destiny. Jami is a gorgeous bombshell from my hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana. She married her high school sweetheart and before she knew it, found herself with a great career, enjoying the bustling affluence and Yuppie life of Dallas, Texas. Yet like so many have experienced, underneath the surface, the promises of ease and comfort that this world packages so well fell short. Disillusionment hit Jami hard through her husband’s unfaithfulness. Suddenly, Jami was all on her own, drowning in the grief of betrayal and divorce, searching for hope and purpose again.

This was when Jami and I reconnected. We hadn’t seen each other since high school. Ironically, we were both back in our hometown, feeling our way through the darkness of a shattered world. Her friendship was such a source of strength to me during that time.

Jami has since left life’s disappointments and distractions in her wake as she has set out to pursue life’s true meaning and significance. Fueled by her faith in Jesus Christ, Jami joined the World Race, where she is traveling through eleven countries in eleven months. She is getting the opportunity to minister to people in the furthest corners of the world. Yet, as you can imagine, the greatest change is taking place within her own heart.

The following is Jami’s latest post from her blog: girlatarms.com. It is UNBELIEVABLE. She is not only an inspiration, but an incredible writer. You will definitely want to subscribe to her blog and follow along as she shares her journey of missions and personal awakening. You are going to LOVE HER!

The Pace of Things by Jami Williams

Eastern Europe doesn’t feel like a couple months ago- it feels like a past life. One that I can say I lived well and will bury without regret. It was a strange time for me. It was a strange series of places.

The people, more often than not, seemed to be hostages of time- moving at a slow, expressionless pace. As if the whole room could sit hypnotized in the haze of cigarette smoke, there was a sluggish, dismal pace to it all.

Clear skies were suspended above a culture clouded by a fog of bleakness. The blood of orthodox religion and communism still courses through the veins of these people- dulling the heartbeat of passion and slowing the breath of hope.

The weight of oppression seems to hang heavy on their shoulders. A transfusion of real Life is needed- and Life to the full.

Two flights and four bus rides later, I find myself in Africa.

How do I even begin to explain Africa? It’s also a culture that moves at turtle speed, but not because of the weight of unseen chains and shackles. It’s as if everyone wants to linger in the sun a little longer and stay in this present moment.

I live without running water and electricity here. But there is an electricity in the air- the kind that reminds me of New York City, but for entirely different reasons.

I can feel myself come alive here. Alive to the joy of the people. Alive to the putrid smells of trash. Alive to the bluest of blue skies. Alive to sunsets so gold and bright, I have to stop and stare to confirm it’s real.

Alive to the beats and rhythms only Africa can claim. Alive to the smiles and stares and waves.

Alive to the most alien of bugs, beetles, spiders, and creatures.

Alive to the abrasive honesty that comes from a refreshing disregard for political correctness.

Alive.

For better or for worse, it’s a place fully alive.

But America is home. And home roots a culture so deep within that a few months abroad isn’t going to shake it from my bones.

I have a love/hate relationship with the pace of our race. We move and do and checklist things at the speed of light.

We are efficient, industrious, innovative initiators.

I love this about my land and my people.

But I think somewhere along the path to status and security, we’ve lost our way.

We are missing the point.

Our lives are scheduled and productive, but all too often void of true, abundant living.

The relentless, fast pace numbs us from the reality that we aren’t really doing anything that matters. Like an anesthetic dulling the discomfort of empty, purposeless days- we are on a constant IV drip of get more, do more, save more, buy more.

Materialism over meaning.

Comfort over calling.

We cloak our cowardice with busyness.

We seek prestige more than purpose.

We exchange true freedom and joy for the fleeting highs of new things, gadgets, and social media likes.

The opportunity of my land is like no other place on this planet. But with that opportunity comes the threat of a dangerous exchange.

An abundance of things doesn’t mean abundant life.

I choose the abundant life God intended for me. I choose calling over comfort; purpose over prestige.

Now, you choose.

Maybe it’s time to pump the brakes on the pace of the American Dream and live the dream to which you are called.

It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” – C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory