Although life is full of excitement and adventure, at times it also scares the heck of me. I was thinking today about where I will be when I'm 22 years old. (Hopefully) Graduated from Baylor with my degree in Fashion Merchandising. Either looking for or beginning my first real job in that field. Possibly married or moving in that direction. And who in the world knows what else. Even though all of that makes me really excited, thinking about the journey of getting there really freaks me out. Taking approximately 225-265 tests before then, making tons of difficult decisions, finding an internship, maintaining relationships during that time, making new friends, and seeing some friendships possibly fade away...seeing myself continue to grow and develop and change into the woman God has created me to be...Yeah, the thought of living out the next 3 or 4 years is a little overwhelming to me.
So, at first I thought the solution to this would be "take things a day at a time. Live in the moment." But to be quite honest with you, even making that my focus can be stressful at times. Thinking about the tests I'll need to be studying for, projects to turn in, difficult situations with friends or family...and then it hit me!
Life really is scary, overwhelming, stressful, intimidating at times when our focus is "live in the moment," because sometimes that moment is a really tough one. Even though I think there's some truth behind that statement..Live outside the moment! Live above the moment. Live outside yourselves. When we approach life, the day, the hour, with the mindset of "I'm going to expand God's Kingdom today by showing others his love,"...that's a whole lot less intimidating or stressful. It brings hope and joy because we're not living "day to day," test to test, to-do list to to-do list.
Approach life as a son or daughter of the King who has been called to live a life of love. Approach the day with God's Kingdom in mind...and in the mean time, you'll take tests and pull all-nighters and deal with people and walk through tough times...but you won't be living in that moment. You'll be living above it and for a greater purpose. Choose not to be intimidated or overwhelmed...for "God did not give us a spirit of fear." He is my hope.
