Last week, a colleague asked me, “If there is one truth that you want young adults to know, what would it be?”
My answer?
“God has created me for some definite service. He has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another.” -Cardinal Newman
Young adulthood is one of transition, uncertainty, and longing. It may be moving to a new city, searching for employment after graduation, or praying God sends you your spouse…soon!
Many young adults make life decision on their own, determine what success is on their own, pursue relationships with their own criteria without asking what God wills. And often, they end up feeling lost, empty, and hurt.
If young adults (or anyone for that matter) knew in their hearts that God loves them and has a unique plan for them, they could move forward into adulthood with confidence and joy! Here are some tips to consider if you are at a crossroad in your life:
* Remove mortal sin from your life with the help of a spiritual director and/or Catholic psychotherapist. It’s impossible for grace to get in if sin is blocking the way.
* Develop a prayer life through daily Scripture meditation, weekly Mass (or more often), and monthly confession (or more often). Jesus is in the sacraments; go find Him there!
* Learn to correctly discern how the Holy Spirit is guiding you. Recommended reading includes: “Finding God’s Will For You” by St. Francis de Sales and “What Does God Want?: A Practical Guide to Making Decisions” by Fr. Michael Scanlan.
Feel free to share with the blog how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have guided you toward God’s Will!
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever.” John 14:16
I have always said that I didn’t choose teaching – it chose me. I never wanted to enter the profession, but felt called to it. I am good at what I do, and realize that God gave me exactly what I needed to answer His call. I have discussed this with my children and with my CCD students (can’t quite manage that with my MCPS crew …:), and hope that they, too, will hear and answer their calls. I think it’s important to understand that we may not always like or want to answer the calls we get, but that those are the ones most likely to make us grow in the ways we need to grow.
I’ve always known what I wanted to do (been in the medical field since I was 15, for about 6 going on 7 years now), but it’s getting there that is the issue. It’s very difficult to get higher up in the medical field, such as going into nursing or PA school, because a lot of places bank on really high GPA’s and hardly look at experience (thankfully that is slowly starting to change). I’m leaving my options open after my graduation at the end of this year/beginning of next year with a psych degree, and applying to grad school, med school, nursing school, PA school, and Officer Candidate School in the Coast Guard. I’m letting God pick, instead of making a plan.
My own spiritual life involves daily mass and lots of prayer. I also like to go to events around the archdiocese, such as the big Masses at the Shrine, or the young adult events to broaden my faith and religion. It’s gotten to the point where if I don’t have daily mass a few times a week at least, I start to feel a little bit lost. Even if I’m dog tired from working a 12 or 16 hour shift in the ER, I need Mass for the peace and prayer at the very least. I pray before each shift, and before I do work on critical patients. It definitely helps me stay peaceful and laid back on a given shift. I also try to make Sunday mass after I work weekends, unless I am pulling three 12’s in a row, and then I usually can’t make it because of sleep deprivation. This is just how an ER person tries to find ways to have a good spiritual life…hope it helps!
One of the books I chose for my Lenten reading this year was Rick Warren’s “Purpose-Driven Life.” The book is something of a commercial enterprise that I think is somewhat over the top, but still is worth reading.
The first line: It’s not about you. The theme of the book is that we are here to serve God.
That’s something we should all hear once in a while.
I had no intention of ever becoming a teacher. Until I was in my junior year of college the thought had never even crossed my mind. Something (likely the Holy Spirit) began pushing me in that direction in my senior year. Now, nearly 6 full years removed from graduation, I have spent two years teaching part-time and in my third year teaching full-time.
Even when I am exhausted, which tends to be every Wed.-Fri. from March through May, I feel like I’m doing something noble and fulfilling what God has intended for me.
If you take the time to “be still and know that he is God” the answers seem much plainer…because our Lord does speak to us and confirm to us (by some inner sense of satisfaction and also through outward signs like people telling us we are “naturals at what we do”) when we are doing what he asks.
I like your first point. We hamper ourselves far too much by our own deadly sins. They cloud our own vision and suck the joy right out of lives. While nothing is impossible for God, I think he prefers talking to people who are ready to listen. If we pull a Jonah, and in our own pride block out God’s word, we will find no satisfaction in what we do, until we return to the Lord (what Jonah eventually did.)