Everyday Jesus has something new and amazing to show us. It breaks my heart to know how many opportunities I haven’t taken out of pride, fear, or even just laziness. I wanted to open up my first blog post by addressing this. In John 10:10 Jesus tells us, He wants us to live abundantly! He has given us every resource, every perfect moment, and every opportunity, but if we are too blinded to see His plan, we might never truly experience everything in this life.
So going off of this note, I just want to acknowledge my family and friends who may not truly embrace the idea of this gap year. In my mind there are 2 types of people I have encountered during my discussions about this year that have really stuck out to me. There are those who openly share their inhibitions about what spending a year abroad could mean. Most of the time these statements are spoken out of love and concern, which I will never resent, although I can not let if affect me. Some worry about finances, stability, and safety. These are very practical things to keep in mind. But honestly, I feel like this fear is sprouted from the unconventional path my life is headed on. This is where the second type of person comes in, someone who could be stopping themselves from taking a chance like this because they let the first type of person affect them. Many of my peers feel cornered and trapped right now in deciding where they will be after graduation, while I’m feeling the most free I have ever been in my life! When an 18 year old goes to college very few warn about the high rape statistics, the unsafe partying lifestyles, and the financial debt that comes from tuition. These things are talked about but most of us aren’t discouraged from going to college because of them. Going to college and taking a gap year both come with pros and cons but one is more easily accepted by the world than the other. When you look at this year from a new and open perspective there is no reason with substance to not take a chance. And let’s not forget what the final detail that makes this gap year the right choice (at least for me): it’s a year of traveling and exploring myself with Jesus. I can not contain my excitement everyday as it grows stronger and stronger in anticipation for the adventure my life will become. I would be doing myself an injustice if I let my and society’s inhibitions stop me from truly experiencing the Lord in a new way. I hope those of you reading this who might be blocked from taking a new chance, whether it be small or large, pray in self-reflection and make the right choices for yourself. Don’t let society’s norms stop you from experiencing the life God made for you! Welcome to my blog and I hope we can go through these next months of preparation and the race together. God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called.
