.open road ahead.

Since the beginning of the semester I have had the same question asked over and over again: Do you know what you are doing after graduation?

It’s not that I don’t like for people to ask me this question, by no means am I trying to say that. But every time someone asks me, I am reminded one more time to trust in God’s perfect timing. 

This is one of the absolute hardest lessons for me to learn! I love to take matters into my own hands and do things the way I like to do them. Unfortunately I have yet to fully learn complete patience and trust in God’s timing.

I know that I can trust God’s timing and that His ways are perfect. But it is one thing to know something and another to put it into practice. And this is exactly where God has me right now.

No, I don’t know what I am going to do after graduation. I don’t even know where I am going to lunch after the graduation ceremony! 

However I do know this: when someone asks me what I am doing after graduation, I get the chance to tell them how I’m not sure, but God is. He has something in store for my life that I don’t know what it is yet, that will come in His perfect timing, and that I’m excited to be included. 

God knew what He was doing when He sent me to school in Greenville, SC. He knew what He was doing when He shaped my heart for the city of Charlotte, NC over the past few years. He knew what He was doing as He gave me strength to get through this final year. And I can guarantee you He knows what He is doing now by teaching me to trust in His timing once again. 

Four years ago, you could not have convinced me that I would have no idea what I was going to be doing come graduation time since I was bound and determined to make a name and a new life for myself no matter what. Thank God that I am not in control for Lord knows where I would be today. 

I don’t know what season of life you are going through, but I do know there will be changes soon. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but life cannot progress without change. Are you ready to trust God with the things you wish you could control? I know it is tough and sometimes not very convenient, but God’s ways are always so much better than our own. 

Welcome to the open road my friend! 

.in need of a nap.

Ever had one of those days where you can’t seem to do anything else but think about all that you have to get done during that day, week, or month? I have been living in a constant state of schedule consciousness all week and it is beginning to really stress me out! I can literally feel my heart start racing as I begin to think about all that I have to do between now and this weekend and it gets even faster as I think about the checklist building of things to do before graduation.

But God knows exactly how to divinely interrupt my day for the better. 

Oh what a wonderful interruption!

Today I was reading for my Bible study lesson in Joshua 1 and God was explaining to Joshua how he had designed a land for them to take over. Yet he didn’t just say it was going to be their new home. He called it a place of rest. God had created a place of rest for them before they even knew they needed a place of rest. 

Anybody else get as excited over this as I do?!

God knows our schedules. He knows how we love to stay busy. Yet, he also knows that we are human and are prone to be in need of a nap every now and then. When we follow after God he doesn’t promise that we will have the easy, carefree life that our world constantly tells us to chase after. He simply promises that he will supply us with rest when we need it. 

I know that life is busy and hectic and at times I just want to sit down and cry and say I’m through with schedules. But what a sweet reminder that God is waiting for me in the place of rest that he has already prepared for me. All I have to do is continue to run the course with him to the end. 

I pray that you will take a moment and thank God for what he has called you to do this week. He has given us these things to fill up our schedules so that our resting in him will be more meaningful and sweeter. Trust him that he will carry you through this week and continue to walk with him through every moment. In due time, the nap will come.

.entangled.

God has been showing me lately just how easy it is to get caught up in the darkness of this world. I see lives trapped in darkness on my campus. I see old friends caught in lifestyles they probably never meant to have. 

I am literally crying tonight over my friends who continuously indulge in the pleasures of this world. 

It breaks my heart that but for the grace of God that could be me. 

I know it is tough to fight against sin. I so often find myself wondering why I can’t live a life of “fun” that my friends portray on their social media sites. They all look happy and, for lack of better terms, high on life.

But then the still small voice reminds me that God has not called me to live a life that glorifies my desires. If I was to act upon my desires, the feeling of happiness would be momentary at best. When I act upon God’s desires in order to glorify his name, I am living life to the fullest and making an eternal impact.

As I cry tonight over my friends who are far from God, I also plead with God on their behalf. Some of those I cry for are not close to me geographically, so I ask God to raise someone up to be a light in their life. Maybe God is calling you to be the light to someone you know is trapped in darkness.

But for the grace of God it could have been you in the darkness.

What would it take for us to begin to understand that sin is easy and pleasurable but deadlier than anything we could ever imagine? When will we realize that we live in a world that is constantly battling emptiness, darkness, and a sense of deep desperation?

Intercede for those you know who are seriously dealing with darkness and begin to trust and act upon the fact that God will give you strength and wisdom to be a light for Him in their lives. 

Sin is real. Sin is ugly. Sin is dark. Sin is entangling.

God is real. God’s restoration is beautiful. God is light. God is waiting to embrace the ones he loves. 

We have a battle to fight. Now let’s go!