Whew. This past week…I mean month, I mean…year has literally flown by. I
can’t believe it is May 20th! This last week I have stayed pretty
occupied with some things like…
Coffee dates with friends
Dinner with an awesome guy from
Chili (and the fam…no this wasn’t a date;)
Working on junior thesis/homework
Working at Town Toyota Center
Celebrating mother’s day
Swimming and hot tubing with
friends/family
Going to Seattle for protocol
Working in the yard
Watching adorable kiddos
“Hosting” the after-party for junior
protocol (so much fun!)
Looking into colleges more and more
Quality time with my one and only
sis
Planning events for this summer…
And the list goes on…but I think you get the idea. Busy.
Taking a second to stop and think
about it, I suddenly came to many realizations. I have…
1
more year until we visit Europe.
3
more weeks until summer break.
2
more weeks to work on my junior thesis.
5
more days until we begin the “gorge season”
1
more day until Shelby’s 15!....yes…15!
1
more year of high school left.
So yes, these are quite the lists. Lots happened in the past week (not
to mention the past year) and lots to look forward to in the future. But too
often I can get so caught up into the “right now” and in living today…planning
for tomorrow…and forgetting about the past. I can get way bogged down in
homework assignments or how much money I am making. I procrastinate and find
myself pulling too many late-nighters, depending and relying on coffee the next
morning when I wake up 6 hours later. This has been my life the past month.
Fun? More like draining.
What I fail to do is remember Jesus in all this mess. My priorities
shift to where they aren’t supposed to be. I worry about school. I fear about
the future. And I forget to give
thanks to what God has done for me.
So, for all of you high-schoolers out there who are feeling this same
way these last weeks of school, let me encourage you the way I have been
encouraged. Take a breather for these next five minutes to reflect on what we
already have in Christ, and how to go about the finishing of this school year.
Why I worry/fear
Let me be completely honest. I worry and fear because I don’t trust God,
right? And why should I worry when I have a perfect, holy, grace-abounding,
total loving, Son-giving, God who I get to call my Father? Yes. I think I
answered my own question. When I worry and fear, it’s because I’m not trusting
my God.
Why I forget
I forget what God has done/is doing because I become so self-absorbed
and self-centered. I find myself becoming a busybody instead of being busy for
a somebody. There is a difference
there, because when I am self-centered and my life is running 100mph it results
in me looking like a chicken running around with it’s head cut off.
The good news
Here’s the good news…I have found that In Christ, I have a better hope
than getting an A on my thesis. In
Christ, I have a better hope than getting a good-night’s rest. In Christ, I
have a better hope and reason to get up after 6 hours of sleep (hint: and it’s
not coffee!) In Christ, I have a better hope than making enough money to (fill
in the blank). But let it be that In Christ, my hope is in the one who gave His
life for me and forgave me of my sins, resulting in reconciliation with God. I
am a daughter of God. God sees me in Christ and counts me as righteous. He is
my strength, my comforter, my all. And for this, I have a reason to be hopeful,
wake up, and live with a purpose…especially
these last weeks of school.
Is my life still running at 100mph? Yes. But I am encouraged that I can
make it count for something, using every opportunity I have to tell people about
The Somebody. I encourage you to preach to yourselves daily, dive into the Word, and remember what God has done for you through Christ. For when I find
myself remembering this good news…it just get’s better and better and I become
more and more thankful, hopeful, and inspired to tell others about the goodness
of this God.
