Wanting To Jump When God Has You Planted
BY BRYANA ELLIS
“A big part of life is about mindset and perception, so we should allow ourselves grace by acknowledging that God gives us grace every day...”
The other day, I took a trip out-of-state to visit my childhood friend for her birthday in California. It was my first time there and my first time traveling during the pandemic. The thought of my solo journey across the country during such a trying time mixed with the ecstatic feeling of seeing my friend made me feel somewhat anxious.
I feel like I had been waiting all last year for a chance to travel - to gain a nuance - to breathe a new type of air. Being an essential employee and remote student, I, like many others, have grown accustomed to the "new normal" that our society is rapidly assimilating into.
The vehement emotions and tumultuousness of the pandemic's plight have left many people like me: feeling like life has taken an unexpected pause. As a millennial myself, I understand experiencing this shift in what seems to be some of the most pivotal years of my life - leaving intense feelings of confusion and despair. In some cases, extreme takes circulate such as "God forgot about us," "society is ending soon," or "this virus is ruining my twenties”.
With these thoughts in mind, this has been a prominent time for rumination. Maybe a lot of people do feel stuck in life. Perhaps some of us are missing out, but maybe some of us (including myself) are not acknowledging that God is trying to make us still. Having an empathic heart and mind will make it easy to succumb to these types of thoughts and feelings and believe that they are true - which is why I try my hardest to keep my heart, mind, and soul guarded with the promises of God.
I often think of the hymn "Hold to God's Unchanging Hand" that my church would always sing on Sundays. There’s a verse in the song that starts with "Time is filled with swift transition, Naught of earth unmoved can stand." These lyrics embody the essence of the abrupt changes the world throws our way all the time. Life is full of unexpecting circumstances, some good, some bad. No matter how tough the road gets, it is imperative to keep God at the forefront. The Lord reminds us of that in John 16:33 with "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
When I took my trip, I thoroughly enjoyed myself, but at the same time, I felt a sense of doubt and anxiety. On the one hand, I enjoyed myself and made the best of an unfortunate situation. On the other hand, I felt the intense apprehension about my regular everyday life. I knew that I was being safe and had worked very hard this past year so I deserved vacation, however, the free time away from work and responsibilities made me think about the next moves I needed to make in my life.
Sometimes, as a believer, you can wholeheartedly have faith (even if it is the size of a mustard seed) and still feel dubious and anxious. Knowing why and how these feelings resonated with me, I thought about one of my favorite Psalms that keep me grounded:
"Show me the right path, O Lord;
point out the road for me to follow.
Lead me by your truth and teach me,
for you are the God who saves me.
All day long, I put my hope in you."
Psalms 25:4-5
I recite this often to keep myself calm and to remember that God is indeed in control. As humans, we tend to grow impatient and angsty and need to feel instant gratification. The more I reminded myself of this during my trip, the more I understood that It was okay for me to let the Lord do his will. Letting go of the need to guide our own lives and let God use us for his will is an everyday practice we must allow ourselves to perfect.
Isaiah 64:8, says, " Yet LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we all are the work of your hands. While it may sound so simple, this is a huge deal. There is no reason for us to stress and fret about what tomorrow brings because God is already molding our destinies. By accepting this, we acknowledge that he is in control and we allow ourselves to be the vessel he works through. In the book of second Timothy, the apostle Paul says ‘God wants to form us into a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work'.
All in all, I believe that this time of isolation and getting used to the new normal is Gods' indirect gift to us all. A big part of life is about mindset and perception, so we should allow ourselves grace by acknowledging that God gives us grace every day, even in trying times like this. Whether you're thinking of your post-pandemic success story, or missing life pre-pandemic, we all have something to smile about when we are blessed with a new day. Keeping the faith gets easier the more you do it, the same way it is easy for a plant to become stronger and taller the more it's watered and receives sun. This is a plating period for the world. This is God's gift to stunt our personal growth. Allow yourself to be planted in a world that is telling you to jump.