What next?

This time of year is always an interesting one for teachers. It is the time when forms are sent out for you to decide if you will stay at your school or if you are going to pursue other options.

If you're me, these forms mean that you reevaluate all the decision you have made in your life thus far and freak out about life in general. I tend to over think things sometimes.

When I was first looking for jobs and deciding what I wanted to do after I graduated college, I was going crazy trying to figure out what I wanted to do/what God wanted me to do. God's will for my life. Yikes. It was a scary time! I wanted God to send me a letter telling me what to do. Or drop a neon sign in front of my face. Either one would have worked! But that's not how our Lord works.

As is quite obvious, I ended up coming to Pittsburgh! Totally not on my radar, but totally in God's will for me. But each spring that comes and with each intent form that is put in my school mailbox, my minds starts chugging away.

Should I stay here? Is there somewhere I am needed more? Does God want me to go teach in another country? What if I make the wrong choice? How do I know what God wants me to do?? What if I screw it all up?

You see, when you live far away from family and friends, you get lots of people asking you questions when you're coming back home. Or when you will move by them. All which are so sweet and flattering! But also extremely confusing. Is this God giving me hints that I should move this place or that?

My mind has been working in overdrive the past few weeks with all these thoughts and then I got to church last week, grabbed an outline for our Sunday school class, sat down, and looked at topic for that day's lesson. "The Will of God."

Ha! I nearly let out a squeal of excitement as a excitedly grabbed out my purple note taking pen. Yes, I have a note taking pen and, yes, I am slightly OCD. I am ok with it.

My pastor, Pastor Ray Heiple, did an amazing job laying out the different types of God's will there are and what it means throughout scripture as well as what it means for us. Pastor Heiple told me exactly what God's will for me was. Was it to stay in Pittsburgh for 3 more years? Was it to leave all my possessions and back pack across Europe? Was it to move back with my parents and become a bum??

Live for God.

It was that simple. None of the bother with the details and petty worries that cycle through my human brain. To quote the Westminster catechism, "man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever." It is amazing how simple the answer is and how complicated I make it. My calling in life is to live for God, to honor Him with what I do and how I live. I can do that anywhere! God will work His will for my life no matter where my physical body is.

As far as missing God's will, it isn't possible! God's will isn't some magical quest that I am waiting to be called upon to do, nor is it a flight that I just missed because I decided to leave 30 minutes later for the airport. God is working His will for me right now! There is a purpose to all that has happened in my life so far and all that is yet to come. I feel comforted knowing that the details will work out, as long as I continue to live to glorify and honor Christ.

Where I'll be in the coming years, I do not know. But I hope and pray that wherever I am and whatever I am doing, I will be serving the Lord and working to glorify Him through it all.