Where He Meets You

There are “big events” in life that we all look forward to: becoming a teenager, graduating high school, going to college, graduating college, getting your first car, getting your first big job, getting married, having kids, getting your masters, retiring, etc. The list is endless.

I’ve lived some of these. I’ve finished high school. My time as a teenager is steadily getting farther and farther away. I have my college degree. And I have learned something along the way: there is no big life event that God created us specifically to live for.

We place a lot of expectation and hope into these big life events. Understandably so. Graduating from college, getting married, and having your first real job are all major life accomplishments that require hard work, sacrifice, and planning. As a Christian, I have often felt it would be a whole lot easier if God would reveal just enough of the future so I could move forward and not mess anything up. I want to reach those milestones and get them right. Why? Because I have found myself believing the idea that living those “big life events” will somehow make my life “complete”.

But, will those things really make my life complete? Will I have finally reached my full potential when I meet those moments? In the few I have experienced, a different reality played out. Those “big life events” simply came and went. And that was that. My life didn’t suddenly become grander. It didn’t suddenly become more colorful, real, or turn into some kind of music video. My life just kept going.  

Had I done something wrong? Maybe I picked too many boring things to do as a teenager... Maybe I picked the wrong degree… Maybe I should have taken more risks…  

I can pick my brain with all the questions and “what if” scenarios, but what it eventually comes down to is that it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter because those “big life events” are not the reason God created me. God created me and you to be in relationship with Him. And He doesn’t need us to accomplish any “big life events” in order for Him to make Himself known. He’s not waiting on us to finally reach a milestone. Instead, He comes down to us in the right now and walks with us there.

Be encouraged, dear reader. God’s not waiting on you to get a masters degree, get married, or accomplish whatever in order for you to know Him more. He meets you where you are, in the chaos and the calm. You have nothing to prove to God because He’s done everything for you. He lived, died, and rose again for you. You have been set free to rest in and be loved by the God who has promised to never leave you or forsake you.

 - Amy Ballinger