“For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin--real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last, it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.” -- Alfred D. Souza

I think being in college, my greatest temptation has not been peer pressure to try alcohol or drugs. It hasn’t been to spend all my time partying or sleep through all my classes (though the sleep thing has been a big temptation). My greatest temptation has been to not be present where I am and to divide my life up into sections; prioritizing which ones count as my real life and which ones don’t.

When you have a heart that’s in so many places, it becomes easy to have an “anywhere but here” mentality. I have my life at home. I have my life at school. I have my life that wants to be graduated and on the mission field. I have my internship life. But what if instead of having all of these “lives” I realized, these things make up my life?

I am alive, here and now. This is my life. Those are my life. It’s just one life. It’s so easy to wish I was somewhere else. I don’t want the good times somewhere else to stop rolling, then I find myself at school. Then being at school, I get homesick when I have hard times. I, and I know many other people, need to understand, life is where we are. We are called to be where we are. We can’t keep doing this thing where we want to lead different lives and keep hating where we are.

What if there is value in what we are doing right now and where we are right now and we are missing it? This is one of the greatest struggles. I want to graduate. I want to feel like my “real life” has started. I want to feel like I’m a “real adult” and I’m in some holding cell until then. I have a hard time staying present and not wanting to be at the places where I felt more purpose or where I felt that elusive sense of “happiness.”

We have to choose to stop being people that things just happen to. We have to start being intentional and grab life and live it. Instead of waiting to run blindly into some experience that will make you feel like you have a purpose, make every moment purposeful. MAKE PURPOSE OUT OF YOUR LIFE. Do meaningful things. Seek an intentional God. Find joy in there here and now. Love someone who doesn’t get loved on. Don’t let life just be a wave that crashes over you when you’re not looking. Make a plan and surf the wave. Don’t be a victim. Be someone who fights.

Let’s catch the vision and understand that your assignment isn’t some far off thing. God has called you to be where you are right now. He is intentional, and He has fashioned your life. You’re not just in some purgatory until you can escape. Look at your life. What patterns do you see? What do you think you can learn right now? Figure it out, and DO IT.

Stop just idling and trying to survive. Live your life. Don’t let your greatest highlight of your life be the only adventure of your lifetime. Make living your adventure.