I'm guilty of it, and millions of others are too-- if we pray, we tend to pray for change. We wait until we're in a tough spot to get on our knees. Whether it's asking God to help us meet knew people, find a new significant other or maybe even just find a major to change to when school gets tough, we always find ourselves asking God to somehow move us. We neglect asking Him to still us.
A lot of times, we tell ourselves that our stressors or anxieties are a result of our inability to change our situations, but I believe we should all focus on asking for the ability to be content right where we are. College in general is a time of growth and change, and the whole point of pursuing a higher education is to open more doors in the future, so we often have a laser-like focus on what lies ahead, and we forget that it's okay to be happy right where we are.
But contentment doesn't come naturally, especially in this fast-paced day and age where we are constantly innovating and somehow making the world a little smaller each and every day, which is why it's important to get down on our knees and ask God to still our hearts and help us to find joy in the here and now.
Psalm 46:10 says, "Be still and know that I am God."
It's easy to know that there is a higher power guiding us, but it's a little bit harder to know that that same God who can move mountains is also present when we are stagnant, because it's hard to be stagnant.
Something I personally struggle with that makes it difficult for me to be content is comparison - someone is always going to be smarter than me, prettier than me, have more opportunities than me...the list goes on. But to always desire our environments and ourselves to be different is to fail to recognize and glorify the creation that we are. God created us all to be unique individuals and to each carry out a unique purpose. If we are focused on someone else's good luck and unique path, we are neglecting our own calling and are selling Him short. We're denying the fact that we are each fearfully and wonderfully made human beings when we constantly pine for things to be different.
So, from now on, I'm going to make things different in my life by accepting the fact that it's okay for things to stay the same. I'm going to spend more time thanking God for where I am and asking Him to still my ever-moving, change-desiring soul.
I close today with the Serenity Prayer:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.
