And the Word of the Lord reads:

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” — Philippians 4:6 (NKJV)

I had a talk last night with my dad, basically about what I was doing with my life. It all started when he asked me why I was going back to school so early. (I’m going back today, January 6… classes don’t start until January 20. That’s two weeks that I’ll be at school… pretty much by myself.) I told him I was going back just because I needed some time to myself… to think about a lot of things. Mainly about my future.

Being a college student about to graduate, to say that I’m nervous about what’s going to happen after graduation is quite the understatement. I’m actually terrified. And yeah, I know that a lot of students are in the same boat I’m in. Does that make me feel any better? Absolutely not.

Up until now, everything in my life has been pretty straightforward. Not to say that I haven’t done anything different from the norm, though… after all, I was home-schooled for seven years before high school. But even then, everything followed a path that was pretty simple. I went to high school and got good grades so I could go to a good college. Then I went to college, decided what I wanted to major in, and I took the classes for it. Then I decided that wasn’t enough, so I got a second major and took the classes for that, too. And then I graduate with a couple of degrees.

Now what?

I guess it’s natural for me to be a little anxious about the whole thing. But it’s not right.

As a Christian, I need to relax in the fact that things will work out according to His will for my life. This isn’t to say that I don’t need to plan ahead, because that’s extremely crucial. But at the end of the day, God always has a way of working things out, so I really need to not be nervous. Then again, that’s much easier said than done.

I just have to remind myself that if I’ve made it this far, He’s not going to leave me now.

This is something that everyone has to remember, though, no matter what age we are. There will always be times in life that are more than confusing, when we just don’t know what to do, or where to go. And it’s at those times that we have to relax in the peace that only Christ can bring.

I’m about to get on the road, so I’ll have to cut this post short. But I’ll leave you with one of my favorite poems, “Footprints in the Sand,” written by Mary Stevenson:

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.

In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there was one only.

This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints, so I said to the Lord,

“You promised me Lord, that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there has only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?”

The Lord replied, “The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.”