What Now?
See if you can relate to any of the following diary entries.
Dear Diary,
So I just graduated college. I am looking at a whole new world in front of me. A world with limitless possibilities and opportunities. I can do whatever I want, be whoever I want to be, and go wherever I want. I am excited about this chance to make something out of my life. I can not wait to get out there and take on the world. Nothing is going to hold be back. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. This is going to be great!
Sincerely,
“Optimistic College Graduate”
Dear Diary,
Well I did it. I graduated college. Glad that part of my life is over. I am cautiously optimistic about the future. I have been asked by hundreds of people the same question and it has been nagging me. I know you’ve heard it before, “So what are you gonna do?” That is the question isn’t it. What am I going to do with my life. I want it to count it, I want my life to make a difference. How can I make a difference in an office. I want to serve God with my gifts and my work but how can I do that and make money at the same time. God help me. Show me what it is I need to do to further your Kingdom and purpose.
Sincerely,
“Worried but Hopeful College Graduate”
Dear Diary,
I can’t believe I graduated college. Now what am i Going to do. I have no idea. People keep asking me what I’m going to do and I keep telling them, “I don’t KNOW!!” But I want to know. I am so frustrated. The job market is horrible right now, no one is hiring. I have a job but I am barely getting by. I wish I was back in college where I didn’t have all of these bills and payments. It’s killing me. I really don’t know why I got the degree I have it has nothing to do with what I’m doing. Was college all for nothing. I also don’t want to get a master’s because I don’t know what I really want to do so why would I waste even more money on more education if it is not what I want to do. I hate uncertainty.
Regretfully,
“Frustrated College Graduate”
We have all stood at the ravine of decision. Some are just now approaching one of the most frightening ravines of them all. The ravine of “what to do with your life”. I was once told that the two most important decisions I would make in my life I would make in my twenties. They are, what will I do with my life and who will I share my life with. As if trying to find a wife/husband was not hard enough the world throws in figuring out what to do occupationally as well. These two decisions create what I like to call the perfect storm.
The three fictional diary entries that I wrote above are written from three different perspectives. I have felt all three at one time or another. The twenties are a difficult and trying time. Most of us go from having hardly any responsibility to having a whole bunch of responsibility. Fair or unfair that is just the way it is. We are no longer kids even though we act like one or wish we still were. Some of us still live with our parents after college while we transition and this gives us some relief on the responsibility side but all that is really doing is delaying the inevitable. Eventually all of us (well hopefully) will be leaving mom and dad’s and going out on our own. This time of life can be exciting but also extremely frustrating.
If you are a follower of Christ you of course want to make a difference in the world. You do not want to sit in an office forty hours a week just to bring home a paycheck. I for one am frustrated with buying into the system. Here’s the scenario I want to avoid at all costs:
I worked hard and went through 17+ years of school making the best grades I could so that I could get a job. I started working for a tool company when I was 25. I worked hard everyday so that I could bring home a paycheck and pay all the bills. I started a family with my wife when I was 26 so I needed to make more money. I finally got a promotion and started to work my way up the ladder of success. I am now 65 and am about to retire. I am the boss now over all the jobs that I used to have. I am finally not going to have to work anymore. Now I can move to Florida and collect seashells with my wife. My work is done now I can play. Then in a few years I can die in peace knowing that for 83,200 hours (approx. 40 years of working 40 hours a week) of my life were well spent working to bring home the money so that I could pay the bills. That my purpose was to make money so that I could consume.
We all want to make our lives count the question is how. How can I support myself and my family and be content knowing that what I am doing matters? We all want to leave a legacy. We all want to make a difference for God’s Kingdom. But how? I am afraid I have more questions than answers to these questions. I will say that I think God wants to use you where you are gifted. Meaning if you are great at encouraging encourage people at your workplace, you never know when a kind word might make a huge impact in someone’s life. If you are great at writing music then make music that glorifies your maker. If you love serving then make a point to go out of your way to serve a friend, family member or just a stranger. These are not answers to the question of what to do occupationally but what to do “profess”ionally. We who profess to be followers of Christ must not only profess him with our lips but with our lives. He wants all of us. Not only our words and an hour on Sunday but every day of our lives.
It is extremely difficult trying to figure out what to do with your life. But while you are waiting and searching for that job or that offer be using your gifts, talents, and passions to further the Kingdom of God. You do not need to have a full time job as a paid minister in the church in order to make a difference in the Kingdom of God. In fact some of the most influential ministers are everyday people encouraging, serving and loving their fellow workers in the workplace. When Jesus commanded us to go into all the world I do not think he meant just the literal world. I think he meant the business world, the music world, the medical world, the mental health world, the sports world, the acting world and the list goes on and on. God can and will use you wherever you are working. Just make sure that your main goal and priority in life is to make more so you can spend more. Keep the focus on God. God does not mind if you are successful as long as you are using your success to bless others.
I have asked many people for advice on what to do with my life. I have received various opinions from go back to school and get a masters to just start applying everywhere till you get a job. One of the best pieces of advice I received was, “get as much experience as you can during your twenties. Do as many jobs, go see as many places, get to know as many people as you can. Learn yourself. The more you do, the more you experience, the better you will become acquainted with yourself. Then you will have the information needed to better decide what you should do with your life.” I call this gaining life experience. During my twenties I intend to do as many different things as I can so that by the time I am thirty I will have a better understanding of who I am and a broader worldview. God is bigger than any of us and has plans for all of us. It is up to us to be patient but to also take the initiative. He wants us to take the first step toward him. Be faithful to him and he will help you make your life count.
