One thing I know for sure…

Posted By Steph | April 5, 2010

Surprise..It’s Steph.  Not often that I get around to blogging these days, and that is simply not ok with me.  I always feel so much better after getting my thoughts out like this, but I put it off for far too long.  I do that with a lot of things.. like running.. or laundry for instance.  Something I need to work on I suppose.

Enough with the rambling, though.  I’d like to get started.  I’ve been thinking a lot lately. ( scary I know)  Since moving to California, God has really, and i mean REALLY been working on my heart.  It’s kind of amazing to take a step back and look at my perception of things now and compare them to how I used to view them.  It’s almost a complete 180 in some cases.  I could probably make a list and talk about all of my new perceptions for days, but one in particular seems to stand out.

My perception of success has really been tugging at my heart strings lately.  If you were to ask what success meant to me 2 years ago, I probably would have said something along the lines of “husband, good job, 3.5 kids, comfortable living arrangements.. yada, yada”.  To think about that word “comfortable” now gives me the chills.  We’re completely surrounded by “success stories” out here in San Francisco.  I know so many people that are absolutely living the American dream, and for them I am truly happy.  But for us, I’ve simply decided that unless that is what God calls Ryan and I to do, I don’t want it.  I don’t want to live a comfortable life.  I don’t want to be swimming in money in my posh loft in the city living every day to go to work and to come home and to sleep in my warm bed just to do it all over again the next day.  Nothing great ever comes from comfortable.  Comfortable doesn’t push me to seek God’s direction or to do things that are out of the ordinary for Him.  I want to be content no matte what my circumstances(Phil. 4:11).. but I don’t want to be comfortable.  I think there is a HUGE difference between those two words, and I don’t want to lead to any confusion.

So many times in my life I have made my own plans, and then God directed my path in a completely different direction.  If you want a few examples just ask me some time, I’d be happy to share.  Every single time that I was moved in a different direction, God drew me closer to Him.  He has shown me time and time again, that His way is perfect and that is what I want my value of success to reflect; God’s glory revealed through His will in my life.  To make this relevant I’ll give my current circumstances.  I’m taking pre-requisite classes in order to enter a nursing program.  For the first time since I graduated college I feel like I’m pursuing a career that I absolutely love.  It’s exciting and it’s challenging and I couldn’t be happier.  This time, however, I’ve decided that this decision is completely in the Lord’s hands. If He wants me to complete this program and serve Him through nursing, I will go and serve with all that I am.  If, however, through God’s incredible way of leading He calls Ryan and I somewhere else and I don’t get to complete the program I will be ok with that. In fact, I will be thrilled with that because I’ve learned now that God’s plans are 100% of the time better than my plans.  Ryan and I have so much on our plates right now.  So many goals, ventures, and ultimately decisions.  I pray that our decisions reflect our value of “success” to be serving God wholeheartedly no matter where or what we are doing.  It’s hard not to slip back into the old value of gaining money, power, and comfort but through faith in our Lord’s provision, I know He will lead us in the right direction.  So, I guess what I mean by my title of this post is that I know for sure that I may not know what or where Ryan and I will be in the future.. but I know that I want to be successful.  Not the kind of success that is claimed by typical society, but the kind of success that is only gained by giving your life up to Christ.  That is success in my opinion.

In my desperate attempt to keep this blog half-way short enough to keep your attention I’ll stop here but I think this is a conversation that could go on for awhile. What are your views on success?   I’d love to hear from you and give you some more of my thoughts!

Filed Under random thoughts

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    4 Talkies! to “One thing I know for sure…”

    1. Holly on April 5th, 2010 5:54 pm

      Could not agree more. Life Certainly feels harder when it’s not so comfortable but it’s so much better to look back and see how you spent your days and how you got through things. All the knowledge you gain along the way is so important as well. I feel like people pick what they want to do in college and then never really branch out.

      There is so much world out there to explore and wasting time being comfortable in a life God never meant for you to have is just painful to think about.

      Anyways, I like this topic and post. :) see you soon!

    2. Natalie Jennings on April 6th, 2010 4:21 am

      Hear, hear!! Congratulations and good luck in your new path - the world would be so blessed to have you as a nurse!

      I’m also seriously exploring an employment change and was SO terrified and anxious until I fell to my knees and prayed to let Him guide me to my proper path, regardless of my fears, comfort zone, etc. It’s still challenging since giving yourself to God’s will is a daily thing; no magic button to make it permanent, unfortunately! But it feels so good to finally share the weight with Him, as im sure you have felt.

      Good luck again and keep us posted on your prpgress! <3

    3. Greg on April 14th, 2010 8:06 am

      We’re definitely on the same page. I hit this topic head on in the “About” section on my site.

      The more I’ve aged the more I realized this life isn’t just mine to live. In my experience the loftier and further out the plans the more prolonged and widespread the disappointment. I’m still ambitious, but I’m just more realistic and thoughtful of others than before. It’s all about being humble and honest with yourself and God.

      My plans these days include living a life, centered around God, with my wife, family and friends. My career used to be at the top of the list, but I work to live and not the other way around (how God intended it to be).

    4. Lena Mughannam on June 21st, 2010 7:28 pm

      Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts, you and Ryan are such an inspiration in my life! I’m looking forward to following up in person… :)

    What do you want to tell us, hmmm?