I am six months out from Bible college graduation, and many of my friends are engaged, married, pregnant, or about to be. I, on the other hand, am awake at 2:38 AM due to my crazy-hours job, in a house of stuff that I have yet to fully unpack and organize from graduation (with several boxes of my grandfather's stuff mixed in). I've been with my boyfriend about 9 months, and while everyone's wondering when we are going to "pull the trigger," we spend most of our relationship discussing what we're going to eat. I am a voracious reader who hasn't read a book in months, a religious runner who has gained 30 lbs, and a dedicated pianist who is struggling to identify basic notes. My life has lately been a binary existence: work and stuff, with the occasional date thrown in.
And meanwhile, I notice that the term "finally" has elbowed its way into the speech of my generation, preceding everything from marriage engagements to the purchase of new headphones. Mundane occurrences need, it seems, to be phrased like life-changers until life-changers are attained. And even then, people want more. This frustrates socializing for people like me, whose milestone updates are, "Finally, bed," and "Finally, cheese."
As uneventful as my life may seem, I support a life of minimal "finalies." Perhaps one day, my wedding will happen, but marriage is a life that grows normal over time. Perhaps I will have a baby, but diapers and feedings require daily attendance, yielding a minimum two years of social obscurity. Perhaps I will graduate with a Master's degree, but the daily outworking of my education thenceforth is not going to include ceremony or applause.
And as uneventful as my faith may seem right now, I am seeing, every day, what it means to be faithful.
My to-do list this week is short and boring: buy deodorant, go to church, sort my mail, say my prayers. My free time will be spent in my dusty bedroom organizing my desk, which, at present, holds a childhood's worth of clutter. A daily African wisdom calendar that my old boss gave me (it's somewhere on my desk...) holds this dear gem: "follow the river to get to the ocean." I paddle to an ocean not found in this world, ever carried by his refreshing grace. Be it finishing my unpacking (how long, O Lord?), landing a career, having a baby, or even buying headphones, I am never going to "get there" in this life. I shouldn't have to, and I'm deceived if I think I have; I'm not here to arrive. I'm here to be faithful as an expression of his faithfulness to me. For all that a commonplace life leaves me without, I have learned the secret to being content in every situation... finally.
And meanwhile, I notice that the term "finally" has elbowed its way into the speech of my generation, preceding everything from marriage engagements to the purchase of new headphones. Mundane occurrences need, it seems, to be phrased like life-changers until life-changers are attained. And even then, people want more. This frustrates socializing for people like me, whose milestone updates are, "Finally, bed," and "Finally, cheese."
As uneventful as my life may seem, I support a life of minimal "finalies." Perhaps one day, my wedding will happen, but marriage is a life that grows normal over time. Perhaps I will have a baby, but diapers and feedings require daily attendance, yielding a minimum two years of social obscurity. Perhaps I will graduate with a Master's degree, but the daily outworking of my education thenceforth is not going to include ceremony or applause.
And as uneventful as my faith may seem right now, I am seeing, every day, what it means to be faithful.
My to-do list this week is short and boring: buy deodorant, go to church, sort my mail, say my prayers. My free time will be spent in my dusty bedroom organizing my desk, which, at present, holds a childhood's worth of clutter. A daily African wisdom calendar that my old boss gave me (it's somewhere on my desk...) holds this dear gem: "follow the river to get to the ocean." I paddle to an ocean not found in this world, ever carried by his refreshing grace. Be it finishing my unpacking (how long, O Lord?), landing a career, having a baby, or even buying headphones, I am never going to "get there" in this life. I shouldn't have to, and I'm deceived if I think I have; I'm not here to arrive. I'm here to be faithful as an expression of his faithfulness to me. For all that a commonplace life leaves me without, I have learned the secret to being content in every situation... finally.