My dad said, “When I was your age, I didn’t know where my [head] was. Don’t worry! You’ll figure it out.—I didn’t know anything until I was 27!”
This was one of the last pieces of advice my dad gave me before I graduated college. He died a year later. He offered these words when I was freaking out about my looming graduation date and paying back my student loans.
I often think about that time of indecision and my fear for the future. Whether we choose a direction, or it chooses us, the best thing we can do is keep taking one step forward and trust that God loves us.
Quaker theologian Parker Palmer writes, “…Many young people today journey in the dark, as the young always have, and we elders do them a disservice when we withhold the shadowy parts of our lives.”
My father’s honest advice gave me the gift of comfort. Because even when my path is uncertain or far from ideal, I know God still loves me. And I’ll be okay.
This message is excerpted from “Our life’s direction is in God’s hands,” by Elizabeth McBride from the August 29, 2019, blog of the Women of the ELCA.
Copyright © 2023 Women of the ELCA. Inquiries for permission to reproduce should be directed to [email protected].