This isn't a personality quiz and this isn't a post about modesty. Rather, it's about trusting God with the future. It's about some of the ways your life might change when other people learn you're a Christ follower.
Yesterday was a hard day. Early in the morning I got some disappointing news about some of my educational plans for the future, emphasizing the contingency and adding a couple caveats, ultimately putting a lot at stake with regards to an email that I didn't receive. If only I had gotten that email.
The week following the 15th of every month is pretty nerve-wracking for me because on that fateful mid-month marker, acceptance letters for my top-choice graduate program go out. As you can imagine, the following 72 hours of waiting for the mailman (or email server) to deliver is extremely nerve-wracking. Historically, I've learned by Thursday that I was not in the "yes" group...or at least not yet. Yesterday, being Thursday, I woke up, checked the online forums, and realized that I was again not in the "yes" group. I got dressed, headed out the door, and tried not to cry.
During my mid-day break from classes, I thought I'd stop by the financial aid office at my university and ask a few questions regarding my options if I don't get the answer I want in the mail next month. The first thing my aid counselor said to me when I sat down was, "I like your shirt." After that, most of our talk was about money, not clothing.
Incidentally, I was wearing a simple gray tee-shirt that I'd gotten at church a while ago, with the following design:
To me, it was just a random shirt (albeit with a true statement) that I pulled out of my closet by coincidence. It turned out to be a bigger deal than that.
By the end of my meeting with the financial aid counselor, I'd received some of the answers I had been fearing, I was feeling a lot of pressure, and had gotten a little teary-eyed. The lady offered me a tissue and said, "Honey, I know this is a lot. But you're looking really far into the future. You don't know what will happen next month, and at this point you can only wait because you've done all you can do. Instead of worrying about the future, you need to be on your knees."
Conviction at its finest, my friends. If I hadn't been wearing a shirt that so blatantly told the world where I find my identity, I'm not sure that the financial aid officer would have felt comfortable reminding me that prayer is the most effective and powerful activity I can engage in during this period of waiting - especially as opposed to worrying. (Public Universities don't seem to permit a lot of religious talk in formal settings). It was the reminder I needed, the encouragement I was craving, and like most things God orchestrates, the main takeaway I got from that meeting.
Fast forward to a few hours later, I ended up in an hour-long conversation with a Purdue alumnus who also happened to be a solid Christian with an abundance of reassurance and advice for me, all of which grounded in Proverbs 16:3 - "Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans."
God can use the most unexpected people to influence the world for His kingdom, and I was on the receiving end of that yesterday. Two people, in totally different settings, saw my shirt and were able to touch the deepest longings of my heart by pointing me back to the giver of life. In-line with the awesome reminder I received, I want to share it with you:
Even if the future is uncertain and you don't know where to turn, God wrote you into His book of life millions of years before you were born. He will establish your steps, He has a perfect plan, and you can't mess it up. If it's going to happen, it will happen, and only because it's part of God's perfect, infallible design.
Enjoy the beautiful day, friends!
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