Joy in the Journey

Psalm 46:10 ~

I fear that all too often we, as humans, are prone to this idea of associating a journey with movement. I mean, that only makes sense. A real journey is about going places, taking steps - or perhaps leaps, growing and changing and, yes, moving. So naturally, as I embarked on this new college "journey" of mine, I viewed it in such a light. And this isn't necessarily a bad thing, I suppose. Yes; journeys thrive off of movement and growth and progression; to deny this fact would be utter preposterousness. But here's the food for thought today: Can one's journey still be in progress if he/she is being still? At the moment, this probably doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but let me explain where I'm coming from for just a bit.

These past few days have been an absolute whirlwind, so much so that some of it is already long gone from my memory. There has been an onslaught of new classes, and you guessed it, an onslaught of homework & readings & quizzes & papers galore. Already. And people who know me well also know that I am a pretty crazy perfectionist, so this has been an adjustment like none other for me. Plus, amidst all of this came the realization that I am indeed on my own now. I can't just run to my parents and ask them to take care of everything else for me while I'm busy cranking out the homework. I can't rely on professors to let me know when things are due because apparently that's not a thing anymore. What. But anyway, I have been forced to deal with a multitude of newness, an inundation of unfamiliarity. And let me tell you, this is quite difficult at first. Your head spins and your worries multiply and you may think that moving forward is impossible to do. But here was my mistake: When I felt this way, when I felt as though I couldn't keep up with the journey, I just tried to hurry, believing that if I moved a little faster or went a little crazier, then sooner or later, all of my problems and worries would allay.

However, in this process, I had an awesome - and humbling - learning experience. You see, I discovered that a pivotal part of any successful journey comes from the "being still." It got to the point where I was just like, "God, I can't do this on my own. I know You're doing extraordinary things here, but right now, I'm just overwhelmed and kind of quite scared. Here's my situation; it's Yours. Here I am; I'm Yours." And wow. There is something almost chilling that comes from this, from being still and knowing that God is God. And you are not. Believe it or not, God is bigger than college. And even when you're drowning in newness and doubt and such, He's still at work. That's the amazing part of the story here. In all of the chaos, you've got to trust that He's surrounding you not only with His immense love & peace, but also with a solid group of exquisite people who He has placed in your life for a specific reason. And that's really cool. Yes; it is breathtaking to watch what happens when you let God take the reins, when you can simply surrender all, when you can cherish the good and relinquish all thoughts of the bad, when you can find joy in the situation at hand, when you can be still. And rest easy in the arms of your all-powerful, uncontainable, insurmountable Father God. He's so real that it's unreal.

So, blessings on your journey, whatever that journey is. May the act of being still get you exactly where you need to be.