Its 10:45 on a Wednesday, I anxiously call my dear friend and mentor William Douglas, who I have yet to touch base with about what he would like to share with us in this next blog. He answers my Face Time and immediately realizes I am not being myself, I'm anxious, and I'm being short with him. He asks me what is the matter and why I seem to be under such duress. I share with him that I am barely hanging on in my academics, and falling more and more behind as each day goes by, My body is constantly in excruciating pain, especially in my hip, my knee, and my shoulder, All the places that I am currently having surgery. The worst pain of all was the one weighing down on my heart from all the stress, fear, and questions concerning my future and what is in store for me in the following months. William speaks to me in a soft humbling tone, "Who do you think you are?" I respond, "what?" and again he says, "who do you think you are?" I answer in a very sad and quite voice, "I honestly do not know..."
William went on to remind me that the only way I will ever be able to continue in the direction that God is leading me is by surrendering everything I have and am. No matter who and what we are we will ALWAYS fail and fall short of what we could accomplish if and when we let our Heavenly Father take the wheel. He continued to speak about how it is absolutely critical to acknowledge how their is absolutely no reason to have any fear consume our minds at all! Gods plan for each of us is far greater than anything we can fathom or imagine, so trust in Him and rejoice! William shook his screen as he said, "Take a step back, so that you can run forward." The only way to run forward on the correct path for the right mission is by taking a step back and taking a deep breath to realize and acknowledge that God is testing you, shaping you, and strengthening you for a great purpose. William finished up by sharing one last thing with me that he wanted me to share with y'all. You are not average, You are not defined by what your grades say about you, what a teacher says about you, and especially not by what the world speaks about you. God created you to do something that nobody else can do and nobody could come close to doing as well as you. So don't strive to be like somebody else... they are already taken. In everything you do, do to the best of your ability to honor and give glory to your Father. At the end of the day rejoice and be glad because you did something that only God wanted you to do for His Kingdom in a way that only you could do.
Oh and by the way William Douglas was accepted last week and will begin attending Wheaton College next fall!!! Praise The Lord, For He is Good!
Jack Stradinger
William went on to remind me that the only way I will ever be able to continue in the direction that God is leading me is by surrendering everything I have and am. No matter who and what we are we will ALWAYS fail and fall short of what we could accomplish if and when we let our Heavenly Father take the wheel. He continued to speak about how it is absolutely critical to acknowledge how their is absolutely no reason to have any fear consume our minds at all! Gods plan for each of us is far greater than anything we can fathom or imagine, so trust in Him and rejoice! William shook his screen as he said, "Take a step back, so that you can run forward." The only way to run forward on the correct path for the right mission is by taking a step back and taking a deep breath to realize and acknowledge that God is testing you, shaping you, and strengthening you for a great purpose. William finished up by sharing one last thing with me that he wanted me to share with y'all. You are not average, You are not defined by what your grades say about you, what a teacher says about you, and especially not by what the world speaks about you. God created you to do something that nobody else can do and nobody could come close to doing as well as you. So don't strive to be like somebody else... they are already taken. In everything you do, do to the best of your ability to honor and give glory to your Father. At the end of the day rejoice and be glad because you did something that only God wanted you to do for His Kingdom in a way that only you could do.
Oh and by the way William Douglas was accepted last week and will begin attending Wheaton College next fall!!! Praise The Lord, For He is Good!
Jack Stradinger
Your second paragraph was a great encouragement. I feel, especially as the semester winds down, grades are everything. Although getting good grades are a objective for me, sometimes I put other things in front of my relationship with God. For me, Im always seeking to know (with certainty) where my life is heading. What I am doing next, a career field, where I want to live, etc. But I don't always take a step back, as you said, and examine how God has been working in my life.
ReplyDeleteSuper encouraging reading from your blog posts! Just this weekend I talked to my mentor about trials and tribulation. Glad that you have a brother in Christ who can uplift you and encourage you in times of distress!
ReplyDeleteJack,
ReplyDeleteThank you for this post. It really convicted me of how I tend to let other people's opinions define me and often try to be someone I'm not. I really resonated with the anxiety stuff, I am feeling that a lot as the semester winds down and I feel like I am drowning in academics. I needed to hear that God created me to do something only I can do, and while school may be a struggle for me, He is leading me on a path that is far greater than I can see now. I really liked your statement about how only I can do the thing God created me to do well, and I should stop pretending to be someone I'm not and really live into who God has created me to be. Thank you for being vulnerable and sharing this with us.
Wheaton can be a very tough place. People have high expectations for everything and you were dealing with multiple injuries. That's very tough. It's amazing how if one person checkin on you it can make the difference in the world. Your mentor is a good guy!
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