Sunday, November 21, 2010

What now, Lord?

It's been a couple months since my last blog post, and I decided to give a general update about what's been going on in my life.

I graduated from high-school this year, and many people have been asking, "so, what are you going to do now?"
In answer to their questions I've given some possibilities of things I'm considering, but never a hard set-in-concrete answer. If I am to be completely honest, I don't know yet! 
The same questions others are asking me, I've been asking God for months, maybe years. "God, what next? What do you want me to do with my life? It'd be reaaaaaaaaalllly nice if you could, like, let me know. Soon." (I tend to be very honest and to-the-point with God, can you tell?).
I know I'm not the only one who has just graduated and is undergoing the same pressures to decide NOW what I'm going to do with my life, as I am hearing of similar struggles/confusion from my friends. Some would say I should have thought about it before now so I'd know what I want to do, but I have! God has just not yet shown me what He'd have me do, and I'm waiting on Him and trusting that He will guide me to the right door and open it at the right time in my life. I feel like, for the time being at least, that God has me where He wants me. He has been opening smaller doors (windows, perhaps? :-) which I feel may lead to bigger ones, but for now I'm taking one step at a time.
I don't want to rush into something or choose a career out of sheer desperation or pressure from family, friends, or our society in general, because I am convinced it is often those who do so that end up unhappy with their decision and regret their choices later on. I want God's will for my life because I know that I will find joy and peace in my obedience- even if it means that His will for me is to stay at home and help my parents (oh tragedy of tragedies, lol).

However, God has already been opening some doors and providing new opportunities and I'm very excited to see what He has for me next! Here's what's been happening:

-Through odd and seemingly random events He's provided the opportunity for me to help out on a farm nearby and also get help with training my stubborn horse (truly a blessing).

-He's blessed me with friends/family who are on a similar path, who also encourage and support me and we've been meeting together multiple times a week to study the bible, pray, sing, and various other things. I'm so grateful for these people and I don't know what I'd do without them!

-I and some others are discussing/planning to begin reaching out to the poor/homeless in the Winchester area and we are super excited to see what God's going to do through us and in the lives of others!

-I am practicing to become better at photography and am looking into ways I can incorporate it into mission type work either here in VA or possibly, eventually (like, maybe years from now), beyond here. I very much enjoy photography and would love to be able to combine my interest in photography with my passion for missions work. I've really been feeling more and more the desire to do mission-type work, and God has really stirred a longing in my heart to help the poor, and orphans especially. For some reason I've been inclined to research some about people/children with down syndrome, and that seems to be coming up a lot lately- I'm not sure exactly what this might mean, but we'll see what God does. :)

And so, those are the main things I've been up to lately, aside from my general work at home and with daycare kids. I just thought I'd share and then if anybody was curious they could read what I'm up to- and hopefully this answered some questions. :)

I have found these verses to be especially encouraging to me at this time in my life, I hope you find them to be of encouragement to you, also! 

"You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed."
~Psalm 139:16


"Commit everything you do to the LORD. Trust him, and he will help you."
~Psalm 37:5


"Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take."
~Proverbs 3:5-6


"'For I know the plans I have for you,' says the LORD. 'They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.'"
~Jeremiah 29:11