I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Last week I told my work that I would be leaving on the World Race in January and that I would have to go to training camp in October. I felt so nervous telling them because I didn’t want them to be disappointed in me or feel like I was letting them down. It’s sounds silly, but I hadn’t felt this nervous since my wedding day! All I could think was, “Why are you making such a big deal about this? Just tell them. Aren’t you excited for this opportunity to serve God? Isn’t God’s approval so much more important than man’s approval?” Of course the answer is “Yes!”, but I find it so hard to shake off my old self that craves the approval of others and what the world says I have to do with your life.
When I arrived at Cal Poly, my major was business administration, but I still needed to declare a concentration. Within the first few weeks of my freshman year, I had heard multiple times how accounting students have almost a 100% job placement rate upon graduation. Who wouldn’t want to study something that pretty much guarantees them a job, especially one with an above average paycheck and consistent upward mobility? My decision freshman year set my career course that began in public accounting as an auditor and now has me as an accountant for a mid-size public company. But no matter where I worked, I always felt something was missing. Why didn’t I feel satisfied?
As I began thinking about the World Race last summer, I quickly realized that God was showing me that true satisfaction only comes through being in relationship with Him. Most of my major life decisions up to that point never involved God. I picked my college, my major and my jobs based on my wants and my desire for what the world says is important. As I reflected on this, I remembered Robert Frost’s famous poem “The Road Not Taken”. The poem talks of someone who approaches a fork in the road contemplates which route to take. I felt this poem related perfectly to where I am in life. It would be so much easier to continue on the path I’m on that could lead to worldly success, or I could take the path that leads to God and is the one “less traveled by.”
I decided that I wanted to be like Simon Peter and Andrew when they were called to follow Jesus. “While walking by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ Immediately they left their nets and followed him.” (Matthew 4:18-20) That’s one of the reasons why I’m so excited about the World Race; for the first time, I’m truly seeking after God’s heart and walking in obedience.
