Matthew 6:25-34

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

And why do you worry about clothes? Se how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the fields, where is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things , and your heavenly Father knows that you need  them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

--Matthew 6:25-34

How many times had I heard this passage preached while I was growing up? Dozens, perhaps? And every time it would end with the assurance that God is control and that he would be there for us even if life didn't go exactly as planned. And living under my parents' roof, with room/board/car insurance/health insurance/cell phone bill/internet paid for and the promise of a wonderful college experience ahead of me, that was a pretty easy idea to live with. Sure, I worried about the future, but in a overachieving high school student who couldn't bear even the thought of failure sort of way.

Then I went to college and life got a little iffier. I started doing things like making my own decisions, paying for rent/utilities/food, working multiple jobs, but I still knew in the back of my mind that, if things got really bad, my parents would pick up the slack. And I didn't have to worry about my bank account TOO much. After all, I was going to land a fabulous job when I graduated, right?

However, God, as He tends to do, threw a wrench in my plans. I found out that I was graduating a semester eariler than I planned, giving me six less months in the comforting cocoon of college. Then the bottom fell out of the ecomony, making jobs scarcer than gold-plated four-leaf clovers. On top of it all, God informed me in his own little way that it was time for me to leave Nashville and return to my hometown (which was NOT in my plans). To put it lightly, I freaked. And not in an overachieving high school student way, but in a scared little girl who is not ready to grow up so she stresses herself out to the point that she ends up in the emergency room with severe stomach pains sort of way.

I'll be honest; life after college is hard. I whole-heartedly believe that the transition from college to the real world is much more difficult than the transition from high school to college. And people don't really talk about it. It is almost as though they expect you to have your life figured out the moment that you walk off the stage with that diploma. Truthfully, it's been four months since I stood there shaking hands with the president, wearing a nervous smile and a ridiculous hat, and, even though God has blessed me with a great place to live and an amazing job, I still don't have life figured out.

I'm still learning how to be an adult and how to be a better follower of Christ. Because I'm me, I expect myself to have my life all together at all times. Mistakes are not an option in my world. However, lately I've had to get used to the idea that I'm not completely in control. God reminds me of my humanity countless times every day. He also reminds me that He loves me. Especially when I'm not in control. Because when I am not in control, He is. And that's the way that it should be.

Does this mean that I don't worry about my bank account or my bills or the fact that my car is in the shop? I wish that I could say yes but, unfortunately, that is not the case. However, it is that those times that seek to I remember the lilies in their splendor. When I was younger, I was teased relentlessly about my freckles, creating in me a love for tiger lilies. I figured that, on some level, they must understand my pain because, after all, they have freckles too. O, that I could have the faith of a flower. My prayer for myself and for you is that we daily grow in our love and trust of God.