To Your Future

I have now been living in Italy for a little over a month. It’s strange because there are more days where it feels like I’m not living abroad than there are days where I can’t believe I’m in another country. I hope that’s just because this place is really starting to feel like home. I compare being here to my time in Australia, and while both experiences started out completely different, how much you learn while immersed in a different country in such a short amount of time is the same. I have always had such a love and passion for adventure and being here has only reassured me that this is how I best learn about life.

It’s weird because this is really the first time where I have no idea what’s going to happen next. When you’re young, you follow the “school schedule”. You’re sort of expected to go from elementary school to middle school to high school and then college. But after all that, you’re pretty much on your own, expected to use all that you’ve learned over the last couple years to embark into this new world of unfamiliarity. Deciding to come here was a pretty random, last minute decision and from the moment I made up my mind to do this there have been challenges along the way. I am someone who has a lot of self-doubt, and this experience has really tested that. But, a couple things have really stuck with me and allowed my mind and body to rest in peace. In life, we should never be worried, and we should never let worry turn into fear because God has ALWAYS known for as long and even longer than we have been alive what our lives would be composed of. We cannot control His plan. His plans for my life have been set in stone and perfectly unique to the person He has created me to be in order for me to succeed. He looks down at us in the midst of our worry and He says, “Child, if you only knew the plans I have for you”. Never in my life did I ever think Florence, Italy was going to be a place I called home, but He did. He placed me here, He led me here, He wants me to be here. For an exact reason/reasons I don’t really know yet, but what is it I’m going to do in order to discover or fulfill this plan He has for me?

God has given you all the tools in the world to be successful. Every experience, opportunity, relationship, obstacle and blessing He has given you in your life up until now all contribute to your ability to go out and succeed. All of these tools have been uniquely personalized by God for you because there is no one else He trusts more to fulfill them than you; the person He created them for. He knows that we are each capable of succeeding, that’s why He gives us the abilities to do so.

It is so cool how personable the plans God has for each and every one of us are. If you’re interested in music, He gives you an ear and a passion for sound. If you want to pursue a career in sports, He gives you endurance and work ethic. If you’re interested in travel, He gives you a heart for adventure and curiosity. The list of opportunities goes on and on.

God knows that I have a passion for people, so He opens doors for me to explore and immerse myself into different cultures to see and learn more about some of His greatest creations. I learn the most about life through how others do life. Getting to discover their differences, how they communicate, the little things they find joy in, their hardest struggles or hidden talents, this brings me closer to God and where I feel his love the most because I get to admire his handiwork, his craftiness, his creativity, and I get a glimpse of all the things God was thinking when He created this specific human being. God challenges me in this area by testing my patience. God asks me and challenges me, how are you going to communicate love to them today? How are you going to represent me? He is saying, “Be humble, exercise sympathy, practice humility, be curious for connection, this is how I best talk to you”.

There is so much to learn about yourself through the connections and conversations we make with other people. What you discover or learn about them and how you participate in or give back to the conversation. We all relate and engage in the human experience, we all feel and are capable of creating feelings. We all live and love with the same intentions and hopes of having lived and being loved in return. Life itself is a beautiful, inviting and thrilling adventure. What tools of ours are we going to use in order to fulfill that dream for ourselves and for one another? We rarely ever acquire what we learn entirely on our own, we are all sparked or compelled by something that inspires us. Something or someone that encourages us to dig deeper, to think harder. Life is constantly giving us new things to enjoy, to discover, to learn from and appreciate. God is constantly providing us with the tools we need to be successful. But, it is how we decide to use those tools that will determine whether or not we will succeed.

Ask God where can you be most appreciated, needed, and inspired. Go where your tools can be most implemented, applied and recognized. Through our best service, we can feel and see Gods love for us. Through living out His plan for us, we can best learn more about the things He has to teach us about ourselves, about others and about the world.

Never in my life did I ever think I would hold the title of a “teacher”, especially because I always disassociated myself with school as much as possible. But having gone through this quick but terribly long 4-week course, I’ve realized that really, all I’ve ever wanted to do with my life is teach. Make an impact, influence, leave a mark. Everyone is a teacher at heart because you are constantly encouraging and inspiring the people around you. How are you going to best teach the world how to be a better place? What tools of yours will help you be successful in work, in your relationships, how will they help you be successful in life? Your tools should be applicable to each area of your life and you should enforce/portray them in all circumstances. Life is everything we associate ourselves with and/or around.

Look at where you are in life and first be grateful for the things that have gotten you to where you are now. Then ask yourself what it is you truly want, exercise the tools you have in order to get you there, acknowledge God for giving them to you and then go out and serve Him.
Do not worry because it is already planned, and do not worry because you are perfectly able. 

^“There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work".  1 Corinthians 12:5-6