Change is in the air.
And as this journey of 11 months has turned into 11 weeks, it’s only natural to look ahead and wonder –
what’s next?
I promised myself around month six that I would stay focused on whichever ministry we were in and not worry too much about the future. That I would stay present – even in month eleven.
But as the remaining days dwindle, returning home has become more of a topic amongst my squad-mates, and hearing others talk has made it difficult not to join in the conversation.
The down side of this is that I’ve found myself beginning to stress about what the next chapter of my life will look like, worrying that I wont make the right choices and will somehow “miss” the future that God has purposed for me.
I’ve found myself praying for hours that God would reveal to me His will so that I know the decisions I have to make in the near future will be the right ones.
And while I want God to be at the center of all of my decision making, what I’m starting to understand is that what He wants above all else is for me to be in the center of His will – serving Him, loving others and being light in this world.
That He is more concerned with who I am than where I am.
As I prayed about this very thing I was reminded of a story I recently heard about Mother Teresa
A man came to her asking for prayer, and when she asked what she could pray for, he responded that he would like her to pray for God to give him clarity for his future.
She then refused his request and said that she would not pray for this. The man was a little shocked and asked why she would refuse him when she herself had received the clarity from God that he so longed for.
And Mother Teresa’s response is the important part. She said, “I have never had clarity, I have only had trust. I will pray that you will learn to trust God.”
God isn’t going to give us a road map of the future with step by step directions, and He’s not going to reveal the completed painting before it’s finished. I think maybe it’s our prayers that need to change. From asking for direction to asking for faith that no matter the direction, He’s still right there with us.
