Soul-Deep Certainty

• "Where do you want to go out to eat?"
• "What should we do today?"
• "Where should we meet?"
• "What do you want for your birthday?"

The list could go on and on with seemingly simple questions that I so often over-think.  I am a fairly indecisive person generally speaking which can become problematic - especially when trying to make quick decisions day-to-day.  I can't count the number of times I have frustrated the living daylights out of my parents when we are trying to figure out where to go out for dinner.  This mostly stems out of my inclination to be a people-pleaser and do what I can to make sure everyone is happy.  Thinking about my reluctance to make decisions, it is so funny to reflect on the 180 degree turn my post-graduation plans have changed in a matter of months.

If you had asked me any time during the fall semester, and even into January, what I thought I would be doing after graduation, I would have said something about moving home to Durham and trying to get a job working with health promotion/whole body wellness.  If you had mentioned something about grad school I probably would have shook my head and said I didn't think so, and if you told me I would be going to seminary I might have laughed in your face.  And not because that wasn't something I wanted, but because I had essentially ruled it out as any possibility right out of college.  Luckily I am not in the drivers seat of my life, and someone far wiser than me holds my future in His hands.

So I have already shared that I am going to Emory University in the Fall of 2014 to begin my Master of Divinity.  This means a lot of big changes are coming for me super quickly - moving out of NC for the first time ever, getting my first apartment, having a new roommate for the first time in four years, building a new friend group in a new place, living in a different state than most of my family, etc.  And while there are moments when this all hits me like a tidal wave, there is a resonating assurance that this is exactly where Jesus is calling me to follow Him and He has me right in the palm of His hand.

Here is a list of some of the gentle nudges I have gotten to remind me that the Lord is with me and He has plans for me beyond my wildest imaginations:

• When I went to visit Emory, one of the student ambassadors showing me around also had a passion for combining faith and health.  She even remarked about how she hadn't met many others with a similar desire to incorporate faith and health together for a more holistic approach to wellness.
• I am humbled and blessed to be a recipient of the Dean's Award scholarship from Candler School of Theology which covers a majority of my tuition for my MDiv degree.  This is beyond what I had hoped for or thought possible and a powerful reminder that the Lord is providing for me as I strive to answer His call.     
• I have found housing for the fall.  Hello apartment life and enjoying all the things I couldn't have in a dorm, like candles and a coffee pot.
• Candler has a track within the program to get a certificate (kind of like a concentration/focus) in faith and health which allows you to take classes looking at the correlations between spiritual and physical well-being.

I could go on about all the ways, both big and small, that God has shown me that I am right in the center of His plan for me.  He has guarded my heart with a soul-deep, unshakable certainty that seminary is exactly where I am supposed to be in the fall.  I may still have fears and some nervousness, but what I have the most of is excitement and anticipation to be amazed by His faithfulness and sovereignty continuing to unfold.  

My parents got me this coffee sleeve as part of my graduation gift because they thought of me immediately when they saw it.  This next season is about following my passion and seeing how it fits in to my purpose.