At RUF this semester, we've been going through Exodus and seeing how God worked through Moses to bring His people out of Egypt, pairing it with a comparison between us as Christians and the Israelites. God sent Moses to the people of Israel numerous times, and they just wouldn't listen to him because of their despair and disbelief. Moses got tired of going to the unbelieving Israelites and told God that he just couldn't do it. Rather than give Moses a long explanation, God simply told Moses,
"Just go, and see what I will do."
Just go. How many times, when I get discouraged, do I just stop trying and start complaining to God? Why is it so easy for me to forget that God is weaving out His plan in my life, right now? I've been despairing this week. I don't have a plan, I don't know what I want, and I don't like any of it. Tonight, it was just like God took my chin in his hand, turned my face towards His, looked me straight in the eye and said, "Just go. See what I will do."
Okay Lord, I'm going.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Things I Like About Today
- Sleeping 7.5 hours last night
- Waking Gretchen up with a phone call
- Impromptu mother/daughter phone date
- Getting a B+ on my French test
- Burrito Day at Plaza
- Seeing Katie Moe on campus (for the first time this semester! BIIIG fun!)
- Getting an A- on my Brit Lit paper
- Sending in my application for Summer Job #2
- Apple Juice Cocktails
- Being caught up on homework
- Gorgeous weather (for the first half of the day)
- Having a good attitude about work
- Getting my pedestrian count check in the mail
- New Matt Wertz CD
- Getting to see Madsey in two days!
- Playing Facebook Scrabble
- Waking Gretchen up with a phone call
- Impromptu mother/daughter phone date
- Getting a B+ on my French test
- Burrito Day at Plaza
- Seeing Katie Moe on campus (for the first time this semester! BIIIG fun!)
- Getting an A- on my Brit Lit paper
- Sending in my application for Summer Job #2
- Apple Juice Cocktails
- Being caught up on homework
- Gorgeous weather (for the first half of the day)
- Having a good attitude about work
- Getting my pedestrian count check in the mail
- New Matt Wertz CD
- Getting to see Madsey in two days!
- Playing Facebook Scrabble
Haikus for a Dead Pigeon
1.
Dead bird on pavement
Everyone stops to stare
Feathers swirl around.
2.
Gretchen pulls out cell
Maddie, shell-shocked, stares at bird
Potential earrings.
3.
Students gawk at bird
Courtyard covered with feathers
Another one down.
Dead bird on pavement
Everyone stops to stare
Feathers swirl around.
2.
Gretchen pulls out cell
Maddie, shell-shocked, stares at bird
Potential earrings.
3.
Students gawk at bird
Courtyard covered with feathers
Another one down.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Cliche' Topics and Worrysome Freshmen.
Alright. I've been in college for 5-ish months now. I've picked up on a few cliche' questions/topics that occur quite often in conversations:
Topic #1:
- So, what's your major?
Maddie: I'm an English major.
- Oh, so do you want to teach?
Maddie: No. Absolutely not.
- So you don't know what you want to do once you graduate?
Maddie: No. Not really.
Topic #2:
Person A: I started out with this major, and I thought it's what I wanted to do, but now I'm not so sure. I'm not really into it anymore, and I'm thinking about going into this major, but I just don't know. I just want to get a good job right out of college, doing what I love and making money. (This is a paraphrase of the conversation, but you get the main idea)
Topic #3:
I just don't know if I should stay at this school, or go to a different one. I like it here and it's a good school, but I could be doing something different somewhere else.
Topic #4: Oh, you're just a freshman. You don't need to figure out your life right this instant. You have time.
Alright. Here's my dilemma: On the one hand, it's true. I am a freshman. I just started college and really am just working on getting the basics out of the way. It's a new season in life and I'm still adjusting. However, freshman year will be over pretty soon (probably sooner than I realize) and I'll be a sophmore. I'll know how things work around here, and will be getting into more major-specific classes. I'll need to begin thinking about if I'm good with the major I'm in. Soon after that, I'll be into my junior year, and oh look at that, I'm halfway done with my college career. I'd better have an idea of what I want to be doing, and know that what I'm doing is what I want to be doing, if I want to graduate in four years. There: in 5 sentences I've gotten almost all the way to my senior year. All too soon, I'll have made it to graduation day, and, in an ideal world, I'll be graduating with a degree I can use and have a great job lined up.
In an ideal world, that is.
The truth is, this probably won't happen. From what I've observed, most students change their majors at least once, if not twice or three times, and graduate with a degree that is not directly related to what they end up doing for a living. Now true, there are many exceptions, but this is what I've generally observed. Right now, I'm an English major. It sounded like a great thing to start off with, and I'm happy with it so far. However, slowly, but surely, little bits of doubt have begun to creep into my mind about whether it's what I should be doing. When I tell people I don't want to teach with my English degree, 99% of the time I get some form of "Oh. Well I'm not sure what else you can do with an English degree, but I'm sure you'll find something." Well gee thanks people, way to be encouraging. Why, oh WHY are people SO focused on doing something that will guarantee them a job? I realize the state of the economy at this point in time is not the greatest, and I also realize that jobs are getting harder and harder to find. I realize that we all need to be proactive about planning ahead for our lives. However, what ever happened to being passionate about your major? I see so many freshmen who are SO focused on choosing a major that will guarantee them a great job right when they get out of college. I hate to break it to you people, but that major is almost impossible to find. Everyone has to work hard to find the 'ideal job', and I'm almost positive you don't find it right out of college. Maybe some people do, but most don't. You have to work at it, that's why it's called WORK.
Do I love my English major? Yes, I do. I love reading and writing about what I read, and even just thinking about it. Would I be happy with an English degree? Well, I think so. Are there other things that I could do that would offer more promising job prospects? Yes, there are. Would I have nearly as much passion for those things as I have for English? Probably not. Alright, enough with the rhetorical questions.
I suppose what I'm getting at is this: How do you balance A) Loving and being passionate about your major, and B) Being proactive about getting your life together and finding a job? The best answer I can come up with right now is Trust. God has a plan. I know we hear this ALL the time, but it is so true. He has a plan, a GREAT plan, that I'm not 100% clear on just yet, but I know it's great. It's God's plan, how could it NOT be great? I figure the best I can do right now is to love what I'm doing, be content AND joyful about where God's put me right now, and trust that His plan will unfold how and when He wants it to. That's all I could really ask for.
SO.
If you're reading this, and even in the slightest bit agreeing with, or at least identifying with, what I'm saying, here's some advice:
Topic #1:
- So, what's your major?
Maddie: I'm an English major.
- Oh, so do you want to teach?
Maddie: No. Absolutely not.
- So you don't know what you want to do once you graduate?
Maddie: No. Not really.
Topic #2:
Person A: I started out with this major, and I thought it's what I wanted to do, but now I'm not so sure. I'm not really into it anymore, and I'm thinking about going into this major, but I just don't know. I just want to get a good job right out of college, doing what I love and making money. (This is a paraphrase of the conversation, but you get the main idea)
Topic #3:
I just don't know if I should stay at this school, or go to a different one. I like it here and it's a good school, but I could be doing something different somewhere else.
Topic #4: Oh, you're just a freshman. You don't need to figure out your life right this instant. You have time.
Alright. Here's my dilemma: On the one hand, it's true. I am a freshman. I just started college and really am just working on getting the basics out of the way. It's a new season in life and I'm still adjusting. However, freshman year will be over pretty soon (probably sooner than I realize) and I'll be a sophmore. I'll know how things work around here, and will be getting into more major-specific classes. I'll need to begin thinking about if I'm good with the major I'm in. Soon after that, I'll be into my junior year, and oh look at that, I'm halfway done with my college career. I'd better have an idea of what I want to be doing, and know that what I'm doing is what I want to be doing, if I want to graduate in four years. There: in 5 sentences I've gotten almost all the way to my senior year. All too soon, I'll have made it to graduation day, and, in an ideal world, I'll be graduating with a degree I can use and have a great job lined up.
In an ideal world, that is.
The truth is, this probably won't happen. From what I've observed, most students change their majors at least once, if not twice or three times, and graduate with a degree that is not directly related to what they end up doing for a living. Now true, there are many exceptions, but this is what I've generally observed. Right now, I'm an English major. It sounded like a great thing to start off with, and I'm happy with it so far. However, slowly, but surely, little bits of doubt have begun to creep into my mind about whether it's what I should be doing. When I tell people I don't want to teach with my English degree, 99% of the time I get some form of "Oh. Well I'm not sure what else you can do with an English degree, but I'm sure you'll find something." Well gee thanks people, way to be encouraging. Why, oh WHY are people SO focused on doing something that will guarantee them a job? I realize the state of the economy at this point in time is not the greatest, and I also realize that jobs are getting harder and harder to find. I realize that we all need to be proactive about planning ahead for our lives. However, what ever happened to being passionate about your major? I see so many freshmen who are SO focused on choosing a major that will guarantee them a great job right when they get out of college. I hate to break it to you people, but that major is almost impossible to find. Everyone has to work hard to find the 'ideal job', and I'm almost positive you don't find it right out of college. Maybe some people do, but most don't. You have to work at it, that's why it's called WORK.
Do I love my English major? Yes, I do. I love reading and writing about what I read, and even just thinking about it. Would I be happy with an English degree? Well, I think so. Are there other things that I could do that would offer more promising job prospects? Yes, there are. Would I have nearly as much passion for those things as I have for English? Probably not. Alright, enough with the rhetorical questions.
I suppose what I'm getting at is this: How do you balance A) Loving and being passionate about your major, and B) Being proactive about getting your life together and finding a job? The best answer I can come up with right now is Trust. God has a plan. I know we hear this ALL the time, but it is so true. He has a plan, a GREAT plan, that I'm not 100% clear on just yet, but I know it's great. It's God's plan, how could it NOT be great? I figure the best I can do right now is to love what I'm doing, be content AND joyful about where God's put me right now, and trust that His plan will unfold how and when He wants it to. That's all I could really ask for.
SO.
If you're reading this, and even in the slightest bit agreeing with, or at least identifying with, what I'm saying, here's some advice:
Stop worrying about your life. Love the passions God has given you, run with those passions, and let God do the rest. He will do the rest, He promised He would. God is Sovereign over the economy, He's Sovereign over your college career, and He loves you. He wants what's best for you, and He'll see that it happens.
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