Something I feel that God has been trying to tell me lately is to follow his will, not my own, even if I don’t know what his will is yet. I often tend to think of things far, far into the future, such as what career I will get, what kind of house I will live in, or how much money I will make. These dreams will become goals that I will work towards. That way I have a set direction or idea of where I want to be within the next few years or so. But I often will find myself so fixed on this direction or goal that I will close my mind to other options or opportunities, Or be disappointed when God says no to some things.

I read somewhere that we often try to follow God’s will, but when we have a glimpse of what the end result could be, we will try and chase that down, or take the shortest route possible to get there. Because of this we miss out on the blessings that God has for us on the way there. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “trust in the lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your path straight.” I think it is important to keep in mind to trust that the Lord will guide us on the right path and not what our own understanding of that right path may be, to not be so focused on where we think God is leading us and just trust that he will lead us, wherever that might be. 

Something that helped me realize this was how the pandemic changed my school year and the time that I've had to reflect on what God was doing in my life as well as my plans for the future, especially since 2021 is coming soon and I have to start thinking about applying to colleges. 

I have a lot of options and paths that are open to me, and I have to keep my mind open to when God closes the doors to some opportunities that I might have really wanted to try. I have to trust that wherever that happens that God is in control and is leading me in a path that is good.

I think of it kind of like a train. A train doesn’t have a steering wheel to decide which direction it will go. It just turns its wheels and lets the track guide where it goes. I don’t have to worry to much about steering in a certain direction, God will take care of that, I just need to keep working hard and being responsible with the talents and gifts that God has already given me, and as long as I provide the effort, God will one day use those gifts and talents to benefit his kingdom.