I was at lunch with a friend the other day when we got into a heated discussion about the existence of Bigfoot, Chupacabras, and yes, even the Abominable Snowman. My friend tirelessly attempted to convince me that not only does plenty of evidence exist in support of the reality of these creatures, but it was silly of me to not believe in them. Granted, my friend seems to greatly enjoy playing devil’s advocate, but the interesting thing was that it really got me thinking. It seems beyond ridiculous to have a fear of something as stupid and impossible as one of these lame creatures that some nerdy kid probably made up to scare his little brother (because his little brother was the only person he can scare because he’s so nerdy…)
I am the proud mentor of some amazing teenage girls at my home church’s youth group. One of the most defining times that I walk through with them is their decision on what to do after high school. Whether to go to college, what college to go to, what major to pick, etc etc. I always feel a certain responsibility when I speak with students at this place in their life, because I remember the fear of not knowing exactly where I was supposed to be and being scared stiff that I was going to make the wrong decision and ruin God’s plan for me forever.
Since that time I have gone away to college, come back home to college, quit college to work full time, gone back to school, and am currently seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with actual plans after graduation, which is saying a lot. I think at some point the whole “the steps of a righteous man are ordered of God” thing finally sunk in. At some point I woke up to the fact that God’s will is not an unattainable scary thing. It is actually quite a freeing thing, and being able to make decisions and move freely within His will is part of the excitement of serving Him.
At the age of 18 I was completely afraid that moving 8 hours away from home could be the key to either my success or failure in life. Now, as I am seeing moving to another continent on the horizon, I am so completely comfortable with where I am, and so excited to give God a chance to make my life into something unbelievably amazing. I have learned that having that crippling fear of what the future holds and not picking the right door is just as silly as being afraid Bigfoot is going to attack you in the woods. You can stay in your bed and never move and hope Bigfoot isn’t real, or you can accept the fact that it’s dumb to be afraid of things that don’t exist. On the same vein, you can never do anything exciting or great or scary and be in fear of making a wrong move, or you can accept the fact that God is even bigger than our plans (and bigger than our mistakes) and he is directing us even when we don’t feel it.
(Perhaps the comparisons between chupacabras and the will of God don’t make sense in the world of logical thinking, but in the world of Kelly thinking it is very profound, and this is my blog, so it is the world of Kelly thinking.)
