From living overseas for now 6 months, I have realized a lot of new things about life. First of all, life is not supposed to be some pretty thing we all make it out to be. For a long time, I wanted to have my life be like how it is in the movies; clean home, nice children, an attractive husband, excellent income, and a job everyone dreams of having.
Most times, though, movies have it all wrong. You don’t have to have a life that always looks put together; your house will get messy, your kids will scream in public, and your job won’t always be appealing to others. I was desiring the lifestyles in the movies and on television because I thought that was what would satisfy me.
Senior year, while I was trying to figure out my future, I tried working out too many things that weren’t what God was calling me to yet. I tried finding my future husband, a fulfilling major, and an adventurous college choice. But, all of that time, I wasn’t happy or at peace. I struggled a lot senior year because while everyone seemed to know what they were doing, I didn’t. Until I did.
God specifically designed this season for me on the World Race Gap Year to teach me that life is more fulfilling when you aren’t confining yourself to the world’s standards. If I never joined God in this season of abandonment, it would have taken me much longer to realize that messy and vulnerable lives are way more fulfilling. God is calling me into being unlike the world in a lot of ways. The way I live out my purpose is going to be unrecognizable to the things you see in Hollywood movies. Why? Because my God isn’t confined to a screen. He’s real and available and so dang creative. I don’t ever want to live outside of His purpose for me because I have discovered that everything else I could come up with is mundane compared to the plan God already has ordained for me.
Now, after 5 months overseas, my outlook on my future has drastically changed. I am now excited to go home and serve God with my entire life and I am excited to get married one day and join together with someone who has the same goal. I am excited to see what different seasons God desires to take me through, I am excited to adventure with God, and I am excited to go through hard things with Him in order to grow closer to Him.
