So little know fact, I turned 29 today, and with that realization has come a lot of reflecting. If you would have asked 19 year old me where I would be and what I would be doing at 29 he would have absolutely no idea. He would have guessed I would be doing something with video production, hopefully making music videos and going on tours with bands, and I would live wherever that lead me. He would say I would probably still be single because that lifestyle doesn’t really work well for relationships (and he had unconsciously given up on ever having a relationship).
When I was 19 is when my life radically changed. I lost a lot that year. I failed out of college. I lost both my Dog and my best friend. I lost my faith in God (although it had been crumbling for quite a while, I just hadn’t realized). I learned that I was going to be forced out of my parents house (not by them, but by the government… long story). Everything that I knew when I was younger pretty much was all washed away when I was 19.
But there was one truly life changing event when I was 19. That summer is when I truly gave my life to God. The faith that I had grown up with hadn’t truly been in God, instead it had been in the faith my parents held. It had been in the faith of others in my church. It had been the faith of my friend group. It had been the faith of the camp I grew up going to. It was the faith that I was expended to have. In 2012 I watched as that faith crumbled, because it hadn’t been built in Christ. I also got to build a faith that was truly my own, and a true dependance on God to be my one true foundation.
I don’t really know what im trying to get across with this, other than just doing some reflection over the last ten years. My life is radically different than it was at 19, and it is so different, and so much better than I could have imagined at 19. Im working my dream job, which I never even considered then. I am married to an amazing woman and we have two awesome kids. It is crazy to look back and see how God guided and directed me ever since I truly turned my life over to him.
If I could give any advice to 19 year old me… or really any 19 year old, it would be to not become so focused on what you think you need to do to be successful, but instead to stay open to what God has for you. At this point in life it is so easy to focus on what is culturally expected of you (go to college or trade school, get a good paying job) that it is so easy to get focused on yourself instead of keeping your eyes on God and the plans He has for you.
