The real world…yeah, that’s a scary thought. But WOW is it coming up quickly. Right now I’m student teaching, so I’m straddling that really weird line of being a student and living in the dorms but actually having adult responsibilities like getting to work on time, grading papers, and buying groceries so I don’t starve. I just completed and submitted the major assessment that I need for certification (yay!), but when I called my mom to tell her, she said something that caught me off guard: “One step closer to graduation in May!”

Holy crap. Graduation is in May. As in, graduation is in two months. In other words, I won’t be a student anymore. I’m about to enter the real world. What the heck?! Where has the time gone?

Granted, I get to delay the real world for a little bit longer; I’ll be spending a year at home before I get married and the real world really shows up at my door. But how is it that graduation is already knocking at the door? I feel like it was just yesterday that I was walking across that stage in high school, thrilled to begin those four years of college that would herald in the beginning of life as an independent adult. In the real world.

As quickly as the time has flown, it’s crazy to think how far I’ve come. I learned to communicate clearly, think critically, and put myself in other shoes. But perhaps more importantly, I’ve learned that sometimes it’s okay to admit you’re not okay. I’ve learned that you can’t always please everyone and that doesn’t make you a bad person. And I’ve learned that some of the best things in life are also some of the most difficult things.

That first time that I walked across a stage in a graduation, the future was so big. I had no clue what to expect. Four year later, as I prepare to walk across another stage and receive a college degree, I have a slightly different perspective, but the future doesn’t look any smaller. In fact, it seems even bigger than it did before.

I’m a planner, so it’s a little intimidating to look out at this vast unknown with very few plans. At the same time, it’s so exciting to look at the future and know that God already knows what challenges, joys, and learning experiences I will encounter in my years here in this world. At the end of the day, it’s not my plans that matter, but His:

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.
Proverbs 19:21

So as I stand here and look ahead at the great unknown, I know that regardless of what happens, there are a few things I can know for sure: I am His, He has a plan for me, and He will be there beside me in every circumstance until I stand in His presence in heaven in the final days.

Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
Hebrews 11:1

I have a sure and certain hope in a future that has no end. When I’m overthinking all that I don’t know about my future, it is this fact that puts every little worry into perspective. I may not know what will happen in 3 days, 2 months, or 30 years, but I do know that he is the Good Shepherd who knows his sheep (John 10:3). And I’m one of those sheep.