FOMO (noun): anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere, often aroused by posts seen on a social media website. (Thanks, Google!)

No one wants to miss out on the “big events” of life. Thanks to social media, we don’t have to miss out entirely because it seems as if we are constantly reminded of the things that could have happened.

Have you ever suffered from FOMO? I am a current sufferer, but I honestly didn’t even know that FOMO was a thing until it was pointed out to me by a friend. FOMO, or rather, fear of missing out, is kind of a big deal in our technological world.

All you have to do is scroll down, and you’ll find that your Facebook feed is filled with a bunch of pictures from that one event you didn’t participate in. Immediately, you’re filled with regretful anger that begins to feed at your innermost self. It changes your perceptions of the once magnificent world you lived in. It appears as if your world is crashing to its end as you see post after post, picture after picture of Prom, Senior Awards Night, graduation, you name it.

You had a good excuse at the time, or a forcible one, at least, that made you come to terms and make peace with the fact that it is just not your time.

But now, the time has passed and you cannot help but think, what if. What if you would have gotten that dress, award or diploma? What if you would have said yes to that date or night out?

These two simple words have the capability of completely turning a person’s world upside down, and if you’re like me, you spend most of your time daydreaming about what your life could, should or would have been like. But this is what I have concluded after many trips on the shoulda, woulda, coulda train: Everything happens for a reason.

There’s a reason why you didn’t attend Prom, Award Nights or graduation when everyone else was, simply because it wasn’t your time. It wasn’t your time to participate in these given events because a certain someone was working through you to prepare you for something bigger and better.

I feel like we tend to forget that we have this amazing God who is with us and for us every step of the way. It may not have been your time when you wanted it to be, but I can promise you, your time will come, and you will be so incredibly grateful that your time was your own.

The Bible may not specifically state it, but I truly believe God works in mysterious ways, and what He has planned for you is far better than anything you could imagine. The key to surviving it all is patience. You must have patience in His timing and in His plan because it’s perfect.

We were all put on this earth for a reason and live out our lives in different ways. We are not going to follow the same path and experience the same things at the same time, but we are going to live out the life that was planned specifically for us that will include the right time for us to experience the things we were meant to experience.

So, you didn’t attend your Prom, Senior Awards Night or graduation when you thought you would, but I can guarantee it was all for a reason. You might not appreciate all the posts now, but you will one day, and you will see how God has worked for the better of your life. So, chin up, don’t fall into the worries of FOMO because everything is going to work out in the end. You just have to be patient.