Dear Seniors

                              "God's will for my life is gratitude,
                               God's will is hope,
                               God's will is fearlessness,
                               God's will is mercy,
                               God's will is joy."
                                                           --- Mike Donehey

After graduation, there's a lot of expectations. More expectations than, I guess, I was prepared for.
I thought I was ready to conquer people's nosy questions like, "what are you doing now?"
But after awhile, "Im just gonna see where God leads me." Isnt a good enough answer. Why dont I have a plan? Why am I not going to college?
And I didn't really have an answer for them. I made it into a joke, "Oh, I'm just gonna marry rich."
The truth is, I have NO idea where I'll be in five years, and, honestly, thats actually kind of scary. I have a feeling I'll be in the same exact place. But I really hope thats not the case. I have no idea where my life will go. Because I dont have a plan. I am literally taking my life day by day.
Is this ideal? Not really. But I don't have big expectations for my life, like a lot kids my age. I guess living for God is enough.
But if im being honest here. Sometimes....it isnt enough. Sometimes.... I wonder why im not doing more. I go through spurts of being ambitious and making plans... but they dont always work out. Im a schemer and a dreamer....but not really in a realistic way.
To be honest, I do feel stuck. All the time. Whenever people ask me what I'm doing now, I can only answer with, "Oh, I'm just working." And every single person has an opinion about that. And it's almost always negative. I made the decision not to go to school, why do people feel like it's any of their business to tell me to go to college?
I know, it doesn't make sense to the world. But it makes sense to me. Now, like I said, I have my fears. I'm working in a deli, and my manager is 30 years old and has been doing deli work since she was 18. I REFUSE to let that be me in 12 years....
I'm gonna let you in on a little secret. All I really wanna do, is get married and raise a family, ya know? I think everyone does deep down.  I dont see this happening anytime at all in the near future, and im definitely not "husband hunting" Im good with waiting. its cool. So I guess this time of my life is the mundane....
One time I told someone what I was doing, that I was just working. And she replied, "JUST working?! No you are not JUST working. Someone has to do it! And I'm sure you encourage so many people everyday. Tell me about someways you've seen God work through you in your job.."
It was the most encouraging thing in the world!

And it made me realize something....We don't always have to be doing something incredible. In fact, that's a rare occasion. God puts us in the mundane. Its a test of our faith. Its easy to be faithful when we're high on God and standing on the mountaintop. But in the moments, where you really have to trust, that is when our faith is put to the test.
And it's up to us how we use it. Will we use our time at work (or whatever youre 'just' doing) to complain and just get through the day? Or will we work as hard as possible, shining Jesus light and being a good example. We have to push through the mundane with a good attitude, and God will reward us. Either on earth or in heaven.
It's not about what you're doing, it's all about how you treat whatever situation you're in.

So many people expect to be put in incredible situations. Mission trips, college, relationships. But when we don't get what we expect, we're sorely disappointed, and feel like God isn't using our lives.
We can not presume to know the will of God. When we start to follow God so closely, His will becomes our will. All we want to do is the work of God, wherever that may be.
What if God's will for my life is gratitude? What if it's hope, fearlessness, mercy, and joy?

God's will isn't situations and opportunities. It's attitudes. And with gratitude, hope, fearlessness, mercy, and joy, opportunities come into play. So push through the mundane. Meet up to God's expectations, and not the world's, or even the ones you set for yourself.
And it's okay, if you're just working.

                 "Opportunity looks a lot like hard work."
                                                                --- Ashton Kutcher