Lately, the theme of my life has been "busy." I've worked 40+ hour weeks for the past 4 months at a job I absolutely love with wonderful, beautiful, kind people. And work has pretty much been the only thing making this transition after college somewhat tolerable. I have talked with countless friends experiencing the same things. We've moved home or to a new place with new people, new addresses, new climates. August rolls around and instead of experiencing move in day and reunions with friends, we're experiencing loss and monotony of the lives we've lived since graduation. Yes, some of us started graduate or pre-professional school, and with that came new faces, classrooms, and schedules. Yet, there was something very different about that new beginning. Not quite as exciting, a little more daunting, and extremely foreign when you have no idea what parking lot you are allowed to use, you know no one in your entire school, and you're commuting an hour to class.
Newness.
I have to say I am incredibly thankful to have graduated this past May. I was outgrowing my surroundings and needing to be "replanted," if you will. However, the past 4 months have been the hardest of my life. There have been times I cried every day, multiple times even, just because of the unknown, the uncertainty, and the responsibility of growing up. Its no longer my only duty to go to an 8 am class. I wake up, take out the dog, go to work, go to class, go to small group, email people, do homework, and sometimes I find time to eat. Plus, I don't really know where I want to go in life. I don't know what career I want to end up in. I absolutely love what I do now and school, but I can't do those forever. So trusting the Lord's guidance has become a daily rededication in my life.
I stumbled onto a John Piper sermon the other morning and I have listened to it almost every morning since then on my way to work or school. He discusses the need and urgency to renew your mind every day. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18) If we don't do this, then the little things in life, the one bad thing that happened today, the "insert-something-going-wrong-here," will overcome our minds and take over. That is when we feel helpless, hopeless, and downtrodden. God doesn't want that! God only gives out love.
There have been several things throughout the past few months that I have struggled with and been overwhelmed by, I have to admit. Thankfully, I have friends (near and far) who remind me that to dwell on the 1 bad thing amidst the many other blessings is only defeating yourself. Refocus your mind on Christ. Retune your heart to Gods love, grace, and mercy. Put TRUST in God, because faith stems from love which stems from trust.
I miss my college home every day. Something or someone will remind me of it and I get sad or nostalgic. But I am so glad that I have been replanted so that I may grow in whatever way God has planned for me. And I look forward to this years journey.
