What's Next?

It was around the time of my birthday and that always gets me thinking about my life. What am I thankful for? What ebenezers do I need to make to remind me of what God’s done in my life over the past year? What dreams do I have for the coming year? I’ve been praying for a while that God would give me big dreams. Over the last few years I’ve found that I have been pretty reserved in the dreams I allow myself to have. I’ve seen dreams shatter and it hurts. A lot. And I didn’t want to be disappointed again. But to hell with that, I say! God isn’t calling me to settle for a hum-drum life…and I think letting the Father paint a big dream for me is where it begins. So I started praying for an adventure.

It all started with a TED talk and this question: “What scares you the most? Do that.” That’s easy: Quit my job and travel for a year. That scares the crap out of me. I’m more the planned out/responsible type than the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kinds of girl. I’ve always been pretty frugal and responsible with my money, probably because of the financial environment I grew up in. I learned at a young age that I needed to be able to take care of myself. So I have. But because of that, I’m a bit of a scared-y cat when it comes to taking financial risks. And do I really want to quit my job? In this economy? And not have anything to come back to? Really? Is that wise? I’m beginning to think it is. And here’s why: it will make me trust God with my money. Which, right now…I don’t. I depend on me. That’s gotta stop.

When I look back on my life, do I really want to say that I spent my 20’s in corporate America? Sure, my job served a great purpose for a time. It helped me pay for college and I’ve been learning a lot in my current role…but is it what I’m passionate about? Probably not. I’m passionate about helping people grow and develop. I’m passionate about Jesus and the healing that the Holy Spirit can bring. If I do end up taking a break to travel I want it to have some umph behind it. I’m all for sight-seeing and touristy stuff, but I think I would get lonely and feel a bit unsatisfied if I just travelled to travel. Instead, maybe I want to go to a L’Abri for a while or serve with a non-profit while I’m overseas. I want to see what God’s up to and join in on the fun.

I’ve also been thinking about going back to school to become a counselor. I think that plays to some of my strengths and I really believe in walking alongside people as they work through hard stuff. So, I’ve been looking at schools. Some in Portland, some not. I thought about travelling for a while, visiting friends overseas, maybe volunteering for a few months and then returning to the states and heading back to school. A friend of mine also mentioned the possibility of pursuing my PhD. I could study abroad and get a degree in social psychology. Wow, there are so many options, how does one begin to choose?

So, here we go. Let’s see what adventure this next year brings. Have you had any GIANT leaps of faith that you’ve taken in your life? How’d they turn out? Any words of wisdom?