Today marks the beginning of my next
great adventure—medical school. Today I will be “oriented” into my home for the
next four years, and I will be exposed to the place where I will spend
countless hours of brain power, tears, and of course, laughter. And I cannot
wait for it to begin.
I have been in Oak Park, Illinois for
one week now. I have learned that people here stop to say hi and wave to just
about anyone walking by them on the street, stranger or not. I have learned
that there is a small subset of people in the world who refer to a drinking
fountain as a “bubbler.” Why, you ask… I’m still not sure. I have learned that
I can still get to the “beach” in the center of the country, and a large lake
can produce some mini waves! Beyond all of these lessons, (and yes in just one
week there have been SO many more) one thing has remained steadfast and true:
God is here in this place with me.
I have a hard time with transition, I
always have. I like to remain comfortable, in a place where I have my spaces, routes,
people, etc. But, I also have this restless need to explore, venture outward,
and encounter new things. This dichotomy has lead me far beyond my comfort zone
and enabled me to visit three new continents, speak in front of hundreds of
people, and now, move to a new state. So how am I able to justify the need for
new experiences despite my innate desire to avoid change? I learned to seek
that which is the most (and only) stable thing in life—my relationship with
God, Jesus the Lord.
Seek Him First.
For those of you following my blog
through the past years, you know I often latch on to a word or phrase that then
informs many of my experiences in that particular year. "Always" was
the word which originally inspired this blog (see entry one). For this year,
where I find myself in yet another year of transition, I have been continually
reminded of my need to hold fast to another nugget of truth about my unchanging
anchor.
I found my phrase in the verses
following the iconic Jeremiah passage about God having a purpose for each of
our lives. It is a passage that we often see plastered to walls in the bathroom
of homes across the Christian world. I personally think the second, often
neglected part of this passage is much more worth the attention we provide the
former!
Jeremiah 29:13-14a “You will seek me and
find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares
the Lord…”
Holding tight to the permanent truth
that Jesus is with me always, constant through the uncertainty is made possible
when I Seek Him First. My goal for this year is to create specific spaces in my
daily and weekly rhythms to prioritize relying first and foremost on my God. I
can trust that by giving him the firsts of my time, he will provide time enough
to accomplish the rest. I can trust that releasing to him first any fears I
carry, he will meet me in the midst and help me to overcome. I can give him my anxieties,
casting all my cares on the rock, for Jesus is constant when all else is
changing.
So, this is my plan for the year: to
Seek Him First.
