There is only one more month left of summer and I am sitting here thinking about all of the things that I wanted to accomplish but never did. I planned to spend every day this summer diving into the Word, catching up with old friends, going on adventures, working on resumes, finding internships, planning for the future, but most of all growing into a deeper relationship with God. My goal was to get to know Jesus more. It was to understand the promises He has for my life and to remind myself of them every single day until I actually believed them. Until I believed that He would fulfill those promises. My goal was to read my Bible every morning when I woke up so that I would be filled with joy and become more aware of His presence throughout the rest of the day. I had planned on becoming so filled with His love that when I came back to school I wouldn't have any problem getting through each day without tearing myself down about every little thing. As I am sitting here this morning halfway through the summer, I have come to the realization that I didn't fulfill hardly any of these things to the extent that I wish I would have.
Sometimes we set goals for ourselves and fall short. Sometimes we lose our way. Weeks leading up to summer, I prayed that when I came home I wouldn't lose my way. I knew I wouldn't have the community that I do at school and that it would be hard to continue growing into a better "me." I had all of these things planned out and when I looked back and realized that none of these things went the way I planned for them to, I became disappointed. Family stress piled up on me that I couldn't control. Working full-time became an excuse for me not to spend time with God. And the daily stressors of being a college student had just completely led me to a place of uncertainty. I felt lost. I had done the complete opposite than what I had planned. But just this morning, after gathering some time and discipline, I decided to open up my Bible. As I was reading through Jeremiah, I came across this verse:
“Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls."
Sometimes we end up on the wrong paths. We lose our way and recognize that we are further away from Christ than we ever expected to be. But here is the good news: when we lose our way, we end up gaining something. I believe God allows us to lose our way because if he gave us all the answers to everything we wouldn't need him. When we lose our way, we are more apt to clinging to Jesus. God loves to see us wander because in the end we gain more faith in Him. If we find where the good way is and walk in it, we will ultimately end up more in love with Jesus than before.
