College is hard. Moving away from home to go to school was the biggest transition you’ve made so far in your life, and it will be the biggest transition until you graduate and really begin living. College is a great way to test the waters though. It allows you to be somewhat on your own and figure a lot of your own problems out as a growing adult. Some students still rely heavily on their parents, some go absolutely nuts and waste their college time, and some crumble under the stress of being responsible for the first time. Whatever kind of college student you are, know that your actions in this time will shape your first years out of college, so how can you get done what you need to get done?
One of the biggest problems people face in college is deciding what they want to major in. For me, this is also difficult because I once had the selfish dream to be a collegiate athlete and then work with top-notch athletes for the rest of my life as an athletic trainer. Well, in my first semester, I was on my way to achieving this goal, but God soon showed me that was not His desire for me. Previously, my entire life I was interested in the medical field, and nothing else even kind of interested me. When I switched from athletic training, I wasn’t sure if I should be a nurse, or if I should continue schooling into medical school to become a surgeon or doctor. I know that I would love all of those things, so what would it be?
As I thought a lot about what I wanted to do and what I wanted to be important to me, I decided to choose nursing. I want to mission and love on people around the world; to provide healthcare in most other countries in the world (especially third world), being a nurse would be more than enough. For my entire life, I have desired nothing more than to be a husband and a father first. As a doctor or surgeon, these professions would have to be my top priority, and I could never do that to my family. As I looked at the deep desires and wants that God had put into my heart, deciding my major became very clear.
“The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out … he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice”
John 10:3-4
We are Jesus’ sheep, He leads us, and He speaks to us. When we rest in His truth and His desires for us, our decisions become very clear because we will know His will for us. Even if He doesn’t answer immediately, God's will for you will become known to you at the best time possible. Believing in the truth that He is greater and His will is greater than you, results in a reliance on Him - which is exactly what He wants from you. God created you with deep desires, wants, needs, and a specific calling. He will put you in a place where your skills, abilities, and giftings, which He has given you, will be able to give Him the most glory.
What you do in college, what you major in, what you do with your free time, what you do after college, everything is bigger than you. So don't rest on yourself because you can’t hold yourself up. The one who can sustain you and lead you is our Good Shepherd who knows the intricacies of your heart even better than you know them yourself. Open your ears. Open your heart. Open your life to the will of God and He will show you everything He wants you to know when He wants you to know it.
“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart”
Jeremiah 29:13
