Reflections of a Post-Grad

As I reflect on my journey of the past year as a graduate of  college, I thought it was an appropriate time for a blog post. I am writing this post sitting on my bed, at my parent's house, in a room that has a lot of good memories for me that I have lived in for the past two years after I moved back home to do my senior year of college. The past year has been full of celebrations, had it's share of hard moments, and seen many new, exciting adventures requiring courage and bravery as I lean on God and trust that he is not done with me, and that the best is yet to come. 

​COMBATING LIES 

One of my purposes in writing this post is to say that as a single twenty something, still living at her parent's house,
I see you, and so does God.  As a millennial, I can say we open ourselves up to a lot of lies that come from a lot of different places. We see pictures of a friend's engagement, spend time with people who have their own apartments or houses, answer questions about what we've been up to, our plans for the summer or next year, and sometimes we feel like we have failed. Well, I'm here to say that just because your life does not look like someone else's or what the world might define as "normal" or "successful" for a twenty-something, doesn't mean you have failed at all.

CELEBRATING TRUTH 

Those different words and status that you may think define you, don't. As a Christian, one truly defining word sounds something like this- "loved", and our biggest job description sounds something like this -"follower of Jesus".  We are loved by family, friends, significant others, and above it all, a God who knows us better than we know ourselves, loves us with a love that outlasts any good or bad thing we encounter in life, and has answers to those prayers that you have been praying for what feels like forever (you know what they are). One big word that I've had to make peace with as I've gone through this past year has been "patience". I've invested time in job applications (some have worked out, and some have not), sweet friendships, physical fitness, and making time to sit "face to face" with God as I bring my concerns to him in prayer and worship. Being patient doesn't mean sitting on the couch and watching that next episode of your current favorite TV show, it means doing what is in front of you, and listening to God along the way- from one day to the next. I have spent the past nine months working as a Paraprofessional for a kindergarten classroom getting the privilege of helping some sweet five and six year olds start their educational journeys, teaching them music, while pursuing musical ventures in various churches and continuing to write and perform my own songs. In truth, I'm saying that if you are finding ways to pursue doing things you know fill your soul, while finding ways to come alongside someone else in their life journey, then you are doing just fine. 

FINDING JOY IN THE JOURNEY 

If I can leave you with a few take- aways from this last year, it would be as follows: First off,  don't be in a hurry to get to what you might call the next "big thing" in your life, because God has things to teach you right where you are. Second, recognize important relationships in your life and show up for those people and celebrate with them, simply because life is short, and tomorrow isn't guaranteed. Thirdly, life requires bravery- so fill out that application, spend time with that person, because you never know how they could affect your story, and on the reverse, you could affect theirs.  Lastly, find joy in the journey. It is by far much easier said than done, but joy can be found when you are doing things that fill your soul, connect you with God, and help someone else. And when we remember that life is a journey, we are reminded that it is full of incredible opportunities when we have our hearts open to God, and our eyes open to the people around us. I know I am not the same person I was a year ago, and I'd say that is a good thing. So keep your head up, keep your eyes, ears, and heart open, keep your future self in mind, stay patient, and know you are just where you need to be. 

Love and Hugs, 

KG 

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