Where God's Word Meets Our Mess
Last night, I had a dream that James* was married—but not to me. He was married to the girl he started dating approximately five seconds after he ghosted me. It was strange to see him wearing a gold wedding band in my dream. But frankly, I’m glad I’m not the one who gave it to him.
In Part 1, I admitted that I carried many worries about the future with me throughout college. But I also worried about making friends during college. I wanted to ensure I made “enough” friends, which is honestly a silly thing to worry about because no one can determine how many friends is “enough.” And that’s exactly why I’m writing this post—to encourage you to take the pressure off yourself to make friends and instead trust God to provide.
In His kindness, God sustained me through my first year—and my second, third, and fourth years. But I genuinely don’t miss that season of my life because I spent so much time worrying about things I didn’t need to worry about. My hope is that you’ll learn from my mistakes though. Please please please don’t waste your time worrying—especially about the future—while you’re in college.
Maybe you’ve never dated anyone either—or you’ve dated very few people—and you’re afraid of doing the whole dating thing “wrong.” Unfortunately, your fears about dating seem to be getting worse, especially as you get older. As a fellow inexperienced dater, I want to share an encouraging truth with you that will hopefully help you conquer your fears about dating.
Even though I’m not in college anymore, you and I have more in common than you might expect. First, I’ve always been an introvert; so I understand how valuable your alone time is. Second, a few years ago, I was in college—specifically, a small Christian college that was a 10-hour drive from home. I missed my family, I was scared of making friends, and I was too concerned about my grades. (Yeah, #Classic Introverted Freshman.) But in hindsight, I can see so many things I should’ve done differently in college—and this post is my friendly warning to you: Don’t do what I did.
But that’s not what this post is about, friends. After all, you can find tons of resources about doing all the things that will potentially lead you to a book deal. But if you want to have a solid foundation for your writing as you embark on this exciting journey, I have a few other suggestions for you.
I don't know if you're a control freak like me, but I do know that trying to be in control is exhausting—because it's actually impossible. The outcome may or may not be good if you manipulate the situation to get what you want, but the outcome will be good if you choose to let God have control of the situation.
As I write this post I’m preparing to graduate from college. I had four lovely years at a college where I met new friends, found a church that felt like home, and led a discipleship group of six great gals. I attended many memorable student events, played keyboard for campus chapel services, and tutored an amazing girl named Lexi. I used the word “community” way too much, sat in local coffee shops as I watched people interact, and discovered my favorite local restaurants. I enjoyed being at college. But now I must return to my actual home—in the brand-new territory called "adulthood"—and I’m not ready.
Surely, this thought has crossed your mind recently. We’re all wondering if (and hoping that) 2021 will be better than 2020. After all, 2021 can’t be any worse. It has to be better, right?
Tizzie's Tidbits of Truth 