What if I miss my calling? That is the question that swirled around my nineteen-year-old mind. Most of my life I thought I wanted to be a nurse. Thought I was called to be a nurse. Thought I could make a difference if I were a nurse.
Then an experience my senior year in high school changed that perspective. I got to college that fall, and although I had been admitted into the nursing program, I promptly changed my major.
I believed God had a call on my life and I just needed to follow him, and I would find it.
But when you are at a junction where you need to declare some plan, or commit to something, or spend a lot of money on education, well, the answers don’t always appear as quickly as we think we need them.
God knows the plans he has for me. He knows the plans he has for you. What kind of plans does he devise? Good plans. “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
He doesn’t overwhelm us with harm or crush us. He will author safety and prosperity.
He doesn’t burden us with the impossible. He plans our future.
He doesn’t frustrate us with a terrible ending. He authors hope.
He promises to listen to us.
He promises we will find him when we seek him with all our hearts.
So what is my part in all this?
Stay in my lane. Do what he asks; nothing more, nothing less.
God doesn’t want me or you running full speed ahead, diving here and there, trying to find the right path or the quickest way. He only wants us to do what we are called to each day. Some days we will know the long-term goal with the beautiful destination. Other days we won’t. We need to simply trust him.
But we can trust him.
I took the long way through college. I changed my major back to nursing after a year of business classes. I added a minor in business administration and graduated after five and a half years.
It was a long road. A road I complicated by putting too much pressure on myself. Yes, it took me a long time. Yes, I married after year four and became a mom thirteen months later. I never served in the Peace Corp or became a traditional missionary, as had been my original plan.
But those were my plans. I believe God had his own set of plans, and I landed smack in the middle of them.
His ways are certainly better than my ways. And while the road was anything but easy, each step and every challenge served to build my faith and draw me closer to him.
You might wonder what he has for you. I promise you, you won’t miss it.
Keep seeking him and obeying him. Read his word. Do what it says. Ask him what’s next.
Ask but don’t stress. He won’t let you miss it!
Trust in his plans, they are good.
Maybe like me, you need his help in trusting him. Let’s pray for guidance and encouragement.
Prayer: Lord, you promise your plans are good. You promise your plans will prosper me and give me a future with hope. I know I can’t always see that in the beginning. Please help me grow in faith and trust in you. Thank you for authoring my life and the course for it. Help me lean into you, listen for you, and obey you. In Jesus’s name, Amen.