Oh The Places You'll Go

My freshman year at Florida State, Dr. Suess' book Oh the Places You'll Go was read to me in such an unusual place. My biology lab instructor pulled the book out in one of our final classes and read us the whimsical words of a playful poet. He encouraged the group of naively confident 18 year olds that we had places that we were to go. I agreed. And I even had ideas and presumptions of where these places would be and when I would arrive, and maybe imagined to the degree of what outfit I'd be sporting upon arrival.

Looking back at the past 8 years of my life hasn't looked as cookie cutter as I dreamed up in that biology lab while sitting next to the flour beetles in little glass test tubes (side note: our flour beetles failed to reproduce as fast as other groups' beetles, therefore, while they were trying to count the dozens of family beetle members crawling all over the table, our group neatly contained our American Dream Nuclear Beetle Family: Dad, Mom, and 2.5 kids; that's right 2.5, someone went cannibalistic.) By my 18 year old standards, my life has been messy, unorganized, poorly timed, and why don't I have 2.5 kids yet?!

Feeling nostalgic, I reread Dr. Suess's poem, and was caught by this stanza:

"You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.Some windows are
lighted. But mostly they're darked.
A place you could sprain both your elbow
and chin!Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?How much can you
lose? How much can you win?
And IF you go in, should you turn left or
right...or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?Or go around back and
sneak in from behind?
Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find,for a
mind-maker-upper to make up his mind."

I have come to a place where the future is not clear, where there is no logical decision on where to go or what to do. I may very well sprain my elbow or chin, and I may even lose some, but I may even win. Summer ended, my apartment burned down, I began a relationship with a wonderful man, I have no job, and I certainly do not know where I am headed.

And I am in smack in the middle of making life decisions that may alter the course of my life. But then I am reminded with verses like Proverbs 21:30: There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD. Chew on that for awhile. So I am humbled in realizing that, yes, I will make decisions that will affect where I live, what I do, who I'm around, but really, God is bigger. (Can I get an amen?)

The big question in mind was, do I stay or do I go?! Do I leave The Navigators, or do I stay with them? After seeking the Lord through prayer, his word, and godly counsel, I have decided (drum roll please) to do part time work with The Navigators. I cannot deny my passion for reaching college students for the sake of Christ. I connect with them, I love them, and they are in desperate need of Jesus. So I want to stay. But I also have a big heart to work in a secular environment. So I am off to do both! What a journey this will be!

I am returning to Colorado Springs and will be living there and working with The Navigators at UCCS this fall. I will also be looking for a job. That means my work dress code just change dramatically! From jeans and flip flops to grown up clothes I will go. The great part is my apartment fire cleared the way for me to get these new, more professional threads.

But I am completely satisfied, because this is an adventure, and one that I did not write, nor is the pen in my hand even now. At 26 there are still a million decisions ahead of me and yes's and no's that will be said, prayers of petitions and help to be prayed, and wise counsel to be sought. Whew. And at 27 there will be more decisions, and at 28, and at 29, and maybe not at 30, I mean, we all need a break now and again, but definitely at 31.

The point is, I'm seeking God, and he's leading me. I am blind, but he promises to lead the blind. I am thankful.

"Congratulations! Today is your day. You're off to Great Places! You're off and away!"
-Dr. Suess