Rejoicing in Today

I have been struggling with thinking about the future, the future is not all that far off. The future that I am referring to is a short forty-six days away. In forty-six days I become Mrs. Thompson, and my life as I currently know it will be changed, forever. Obviously this is such an exciting time, and I can't wait to be married! It's just hard to think about what my life will look like. I'm moving out of my house, and my community and fellowship, which is currently in Oxford will be 40 minutes away. I will no longer wake up in the morning and have my best friends sitting in the living room or when come home after classes and have them to watch movies or do homework with. They will keep living together, keep carrying on the same traditions that we've built over the past 3 years, but I will no longer be living with and sharing life with every day. 
My ministry is changing and evolving into something unpredictable. I will no longer have the comfort of finding part of my identity in being a Young Life leader at Talawanda. I will no longer have my girls who I am taking to campaigner weekend and summer camp. The idea of living as if our lives are our ministry is going to be more real and more tangible to me than ever before. My ministry isn't going to be organized. The Lord can use me wherever He knows is best. Although in my mind, I have currently been praying and deciding what I'm going to do next semester... He might not use my ideas. 

• I want to continuing leading my Bible study at Talawanda.
• I want to help out with NLT and pour into freshman girls lives. 
• I want to be apart of the community at Miami.
• I want to help organize Terrific Tuesday, I want to be an encouragement and a light at the school I'm student teaching.
• I want to continue participating in my Bible study with my housemates. 
• I want to help out with Talawanda and Ross Young Life in anyway I can. 
• I want to work as a barista at Books-A-Million and focus on loving and encouraging my co-workers. 
• I want to spend more time with my family, mostly my mom, since I'll be living so close. 
• I want to be a great wife to Jeff, and love and encourage him, as my husband and in his own ministry, to the best of my ability.

These are the things I WANT to do. None of this is promised to me, although I have convinced myself these things are what will be best for me. I recently realized that next semester, in this new season of life I am going to find myself in, I will struggle with feeling as though I have a purpose. I know that my worries and anxieties are not in vain, but they are unnecessary. In Philippians 4 Paul addresses this...


"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."


I want my life to model this. I do not want to be anxious about my future, about this new season of life, because our God loves us and listens to us. Paul says in EVERY situation, through prayer and with thanksgiving, we should present our requests to God. I want to rest in God as my Lord. My future, as uncertain as it currently is, is completely in His control. If I offer myself up as a tool and a humble servant, how could I not have purpose? This may sound cliche but the Lord has plans for my life, I just have to trust that... He's never let me down before, He's never forsaken me, so why am I so anxious, worried, and apprehensive now?

Today, this is my prayer:
I want to REJOICE in today. I want to live for today. If I keep my focus and attention on what is to come and on my future, I am going to miss all the joy, love, and beauty of today.