This story is for people who are anxious about their future:
Today is the day all freshmen anticipate after move-in day, the beginning of the advisement week. During this week students meet with an advisor to discuss class schedules and career aspirations. “I’m so frustrated!” sighs Chelsea. “Girl, we haven’t left the dorm yet,” said her friend, Diane. “I already know what it’s about and no, I don’t know what I want to be,” Chelsea says while dropping her head on her roommates, Diane and Taylor’s shoulders. Taylor gave her a light pat on the back to signal that the elevator doors opened but Chelsea didn’t entertain the gesture. As they all walk towards the advisement building, the light banter about which dining hall to try after drowned into white noise as her thoughts began to dance in her mind. “God, I feel so dumb being here right now. If I don’t know what I want, do I have anything to contribute to this world?’ she thought.
*Ding* A notification from her Bible app shows her the verse of the day. It reads,” you are the light of the world–like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. Matthew 5:14” Light of the world, Chelsea mutters to herself. All the meetings were done for the day and they were on their way to the dining hall. As they are sitting in the cafeteria, Chelsea stares at her food still processing the verse she read in the meeting. “Are you okay, Chels?” asked Diane. “Yeah, you haven’t touched your food,” followed Taylor. Chelsea looked up to meet her friend’s concerned eyes and asked, “How can I be a light in the world when I don’t know what career I see myself doing? What kind of a major is General Studies!?” As their eyes softened with comparison, Diane said “ Chels, being a light in the world is simply sharing the Gospel and living a Christ-like life despite the world’s tendencies. You are a light right now, how else would Taylor and I have come to Christ?” she said while holding her hands. “As for your career–,” Taylor followed, “pray to God that He reveals your gifts and ask for confirmation when you start feeling something out.” With tears running down her cheeks, Chelsea nods accepting the advice, and hugs them both. The day runs its course and they eventually make it back to the dorm after a long day.
As she lays on her bed, she puts her AirPods in and plays worship music. As she silently weeps and undoes her stress of today, the verse Proverbs 25:2 comes to her mind. She reaches for her Bible on the nightstand and flips to the page.“It is God’s privilege to conceal things and the king’s privilege to discover them,” it reads. As she remains laying on her bed, she begins to think of her interest in the health of the soul. She gets flashbacks of how often people ask her for advice and the patience she has with the follow-ups.
The next day, Chelsea wakes up early before her roommates to see her career advisor Ms. D. “Good morning, Chelsea! It’s nice to see you”, she says with an innocent smirk. “Yes, I know I didn’t give you much to work with in our last meeting but I have a quick question to ask,” she said urgently. Ms. D nodded as Chelsea revealed the flashbacks she had the night before about what career she should pursue. “Well, I can’t really tell you what you want to pursue, however, what you describe consists of a therapist,” she says with a smile, “Would you want to change your major to psychology?” Chelsea’s eyes lit up and nodded in correspondence to the peace that fell over her. At that moment her faith deepened, realizing that God placed gifts in her life to correspond with her purpose on this earth. If she asks, it will be given to her; seek, and she will find; knock, and it will be opened to her (Luke 11:9-10 NKJV). As she exited Ms. D’s office to return to her dorm, a grin grew as the frustration of an undecided mind melted away. Still on her bed, waiting for Diane and Taylor to get ready to eat breakfast at the dining hall, Chelsea closed her eyes for a split moment and softly said “God, I’m thankful that I have access to you.”
Being the Light of the world doesn’t depend on having an exact awareness of a career or a certainty about the future. It is something you are as long as you aim to follow Christ and as you grow in faith. Likewise, as Children of the Most High, we have access to our Father who knows the beginning, middle, and end. He is just waiting for us to ask so we can receive it. Why worry when you can pray?
