Take the Chance and Dance the Dance

"Take courage; get up, he is calling you." Mark 10:49

Throughout our lives we make many different major and everyday choices. Some are bad, some are great, and some are neither. However some of the choices that we make are things that we never could have possibly imagined doing yet they end up being one of the best things we have ever done. Sometimes God calls us to completely different things that we could never see coming. That is what is on my heart today!

Some of us think of making decisions that seem too out there or we don't think is the right path and get super anxious, but we shouldn't because God is always in control and no matter what we do He is always there! Unless of course it is a terrible decision and you know it is, then obviously don't do it. The best way to come about making decisions is simply to pray about it and listen for God's answer. Not what you think the answer is, but what you think He is directing you to do! None of us really know for sure what God has in store for our lives or where he is taking us. There is also a wonderful tool called discernment in which we try to explore and see where God is leading us, however I could go on and on about that topic so I will save that for another blog.

The thing is, sometimes the plans of what we have for our lives are very different from God's. And sometimes it takes making a decision that at the time you thought to yourself "there is no way!"in order to find out what that path is. Every one of us is made in His image and that means we can all have a beautiful life in Him, but every path is different. A few things come to mind when I think of the craziest but best decisions I ever made and I will share a few of them with you! When I was a sophomore in high school I was at the Nebraska State FFA Convention and I was going to just use one example from this story but now I remember there are two things I encountered! While I was walking through the expo I visited the Nebraska Farm Bureau booth. While I was talking to them I they told me about a student program that focuses on Ag literacy and education they offer called The Crew. I made the decision to put myself out there and applied for it. I was nervous about putting myself out there like that and trying something new! I was selected and as a part of being in the program I had to write two blogs for their website. After writing those blogs for them I thought it might be cool to have a blog of my own one day. Here I am now!

The other story that comes from that day happened while I was walking through the college portion of the expo. Now at that time I had my own plan and I was for sure that it was going to happen! I was going to be a State FFA Officer and go to UNL to study agricultural education. That was my plan and nothing was going to change it! If you would have told me at that time that I would be where I am, I would have laughed and said yeah right! Fast forward to Thanksgiving my junior year and we spent the holiday with my aunt and uncle and I remember telling my Dad "I could live out here!" and he said "Well go to school here!" At that point I was still pretty set about my own plan, but I kept it in mind and that led to me visiting the school during the fall of my senior year. After I visited I knew that I loved it there but I was still unsure and thought it was out of the question. I prayed about it a lot, and finally I just knew it was the right choice even though it was super far away and a completely new place to me. Well, that booth was the Chadron State College booth and right now I am sitting in my dorm room in Chadron at the start of my second year. If I would have never opened myself up to even the possibility of that then crazy decision, I never would've met the friends I did, found the amazing faith community I have, or jumped out of my comfort zone onto a stepping stone in the path that God has laid out for me!

I could talk about many other times but moral of the story, do crazy things! Go on that trip, ride in a helicopter, learn an instrument, learn to paint, visit that college, consider that other major. Anything that could make you get out of your head and into something that you could possibly really enjoy! Now I am in no way saying that you should completely neglect your responsibilities and wellbeing as an adult or totally forget about the goals you have set for yourself, only to be open to the chance of something different. Each of us lead extraordinary lives in our own ways! As John Michael Montgomery sings, "Life's a dance you learn as you go". Thank you for reading and I hope this finds you safe and healthy!