I Have No 5 Year Plan
Today marks the 9 month anniversary of coming back from the
World Race. 9 months?!? Wow. People have babies in that amount of time. People
get married. Major life changes can happen in nine months… And while I
definitely have not stayed in one place for the entirety of the 9 months, I am
still kind of in awe that it has been that much time. Some days it feels like
yesterday, others like it never even happened.
And last night I lay in bed reflecting. Reflecting on the
last nine months, thinking forward to the next four, the next nine, the next
year. I’ve known for awhile I don’t have a five year plan. When I was on the
race, I had the notion of doing teach for America for 2 years and then a 3 year
master’s in international development and social work. The fact that I went to
Peru this summer and not the infamous TFA institute should clarify where that
notion went… nowhere. BUT Peru was awesome and I wouldn’t trade it for the
world.
So anyways. I was laying there last night, ruminating.
Thinking where I’d like to be in five years. Part of me is hoping to be married
in five years, though this constant gallivanting throughout the globe probably
makes that more challenging than I’d like to admit. I think it might be nice to
have finished a master’s program by then (though I think my plan of just being
such an incredible human being that USC would have no choice but to give me an
honorary doctorate with which I would be able to put Dr. Glenalyn Hunt on my
business card without spending the next 6 years in school is totally valid). It would probably be good to be a little
settled somewhere, and maybe not still living at home. I hope the organization
God gave me a vision for is more than just a mission statement in my head and
actually working to change a couple of lives (or more than a couple).
In Ukraine last year, month 11 of the race, I wrote out a
prayer and some goals. I wrote some of the biggest lessons I’ve learned and
what I wanted when I got home. I had something of a plan…but I had no
accountability. So now nine months have passed and I’d say if I were generous
with myself I’ve made strides in 3-4 of 9 of these goals.
But you know what I’m realizing? That’s okay. I was aware of
the choices I was making, and I chose to make them anyway. And while I know God
used the last nine months, I see why some months were better than others and
why my plans were derailed but God’s plans prevailed.
Nine months ago, I would not have believed you if you told
me I would lead a trip to Peru and have an amazing, life-changing time. I
probably would have doubted that I would be leading a Real Life trip and
leaving in a week. I would have argued that I am still such a mess, how could
God possibly use me?
I’m not sure why it’s taken me this long to realize God
usually uses MESSY people. I look no further than the disciples that Jesus hand-picked
to spend three years with and use to build his church and feel so much better.
Peter was the epitome of a HOT MESS for most of his ministry alongside Jesus,
and yet that’s who Jesus built His church on. Paul was persecuting the Christians
and soon enough became one of the persecuted as God got a hold of his life. I
figure it’s because you KNOW God is the one responsible and He gets the glory
because He is the one that changes the lives.
So yeah. No five year plan have I. If you had told me 5
years ago as I went off to my first day of classes at USC that I would be the
person I am now, I would not have believed you. My five year plan from
undergrad went to pot about the second semester when I realized that what I
wanted to pursue in my studies and in my life was not conducive to a normal
lifestyle. It continued to change and change and change and now I sit, five
years out from high school, so thankful for the changes that happened.
I had the opportunity to sit and chat with two of my favorite
teachers from high school today. It didn’t really seem like it’d been five
years (or 7) since I sat in their classrooms, learning and developing skills
that I still use today (my ability to write a cogent essay in 45 minutes or
less, for example, or to crunch out a blog in 20 minutes… it’s shorter than an
AP World History paper…).
I’m not really sure where I am going after December 26th,
2011. But I know God will open the doors for the next step. Until then, I am
trusting He has a plan. Until then, I am so pumped to serve as a Real Life
leader in Guatemala this fall! Until the next BIG step is revealed, I am
content to wait and know God already has it in mind and it will be revealed
when I can handle it.
Yeah I think if you’d told me
five years ago I’d be where I am now, I would have been scared to get out of
bed in the morning. But now, boldly I wake up each day, knowing I am in God’s
hands and that He has good things for me. And trusting the next five years hold
good things too. Amen.
I leave for Leader Training in Georgia in nine days! If you
feel led to support this next trip, please click this link:: https://www.adventures.org/give/donate.asp?giveto=worldrace&desc=For%20Glenalyn%20Hunt&tuid=9529907
Also, if you would like to commit to being a prayer partner,
please e-mail me at [email protected].
THANK YOU!!
