What's Next?

Sarah Schumske / Student Ministries Assistant

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11

What happens when you aren’t sure what God wants you to do?

Whether you are a student, parent, grandparent, young adult, or even a baby, we all have times in our life where we aren’t sure what’s next. It’s a transition point. A time where the decision you make will have more effect on your life than deciding on eggs or cereal for breakfast.  What job should I be doing? Should I grow our family? What school should I go to? What do I want to be when I grow up, even though I am already grown? All of these and more are some of the more challenging things to figure out.

As for me being a young adult fresh off the boat of childhood and fake adulthood, I am overwhelmed with all of these big life decisions. In college we had an assignment where we were supposed to come up with a brand for ourselves. I was a senior and was still wondering what I need to be doing in life; yeah the feeling wasn’t that grand. So when it came to branding myself, it made me really take time to think about not the answers to the questions, but to the person I was asking them to. I am very thankful for God because if I didn’t believe and had to make all of these tough decisions I would be a hobo on the streets of Australia, because why not.

Seriously though, the tough decisions are already tough when you believe in the Almighty God, imagine going blindly into these decisions. Anyways back to the assignment. My last name as you can see is Schumske (shum-ski), so I used that as a starting off point. My tagline was “the name says it all”, because let’s be real, if you have ever met me you would understand. Then I broke down each individual letter. The first S and E stood for the fact that we all have a start and an end to our lives. There is who Christ says we should be, things  that Hinder us along the way, what Society thinks, and even what our Kin (aka family, but I needed a word that started with a k) wants us to be. The UM is literally the ummmmm in our lives. The uncertain mystery is what I like to call it.  Now as believers our ending is really eternal life. Since we know that the UM switches from uncertain mystery to unfinished masterpiece.

Instead of looking at all of these looming decisions as uncertain, remember that we serve a God who is faithful, and who knows our story, and we are all unfinished masterpieces being molded by the creator, day after day. So, have a big decision coming up? Remember whose you are, and trust that He will make it clear even when it’s hard. 

"give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."      1 Thessalonians 5:18