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 was working as an art teacher, pizza counter clerk, and nanny, in addition to taking classes. And I was barely able to afford my rent.
Phew. That made me feel like, at 22, I didn’t really need to freak out about my vocation. Thanks, Dad.
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.
This month’s topic in Boldcafe is about rejection. “If we are rejected by a potential employer, we question if we should even be doing that type of work,” writes Becca Ehrlich in the Boldcafe faith reflection, “What the Bible says about rejection.”
Our paths are neither stagnant or permanent, and rejection can change them. We go through both good and dark times during life’s journey.
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.
Elizabeth McBride is director for intergenerational programs and editor for Boldcafe.org. Women of the ELCA’s online magazine for a young adult audience and beyond covers stories about vocation, relationships, and faith.
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