Freedom

This picture (taken on the beach in Newport, Oregon) just encapsulates completely the feeling of peace I have this morning.

Today, I did not have to get up and be at work at 9 am.

Today, I do not have to be yelled at over and over by upset and irate customers.

Today, I am unemployed--and loving it!

I was discussing with one of my very best friends last night, this "in-limbo" state we recent college grads often find ourselves in. Our whole lives, we've gone to school, then to the next thing, and the next, and then we are graduating and BAM--what next? The real world, I know, but what does that mean?

There are so many options here in our country after graduating that we could choose to do, and as a result, I think we become a little afraid or nervous about committing to something. We feel pressure when someone asks us to commit, and want to be able to do anything, or quit what we are doing just in case "something better" comes along. I don't think this is the attitude God wants us to have. Yes, we should be ready and willing to do whatever he asks us, even if it means leaving our comfortable existence, but if we can't even commit to one small thing, how on earth will we be able to contemplate the eternal?

When I woke up this morning, I was thinking about how I committed to this job for 2.5 years. I didn't particularly enjoy it. But I committed, and that is something I am proud of. I think God really used me while I was at the job--and made me realize that a job is not what defines us; it sometimes is simply means to an end. As American Christians, we tend to buy into the idea that a job is who you are, even as a Christian, because it is the American ideal ingrained in us since childhood. However, what I did outside of that job was far more important than what I did while I was there. I learned and grew in ways that I would not have been willing to if I had all my focus on my job.

So, today is my first official day of freedom. I had a wonderful birthday weekend with good friends, and as of later tonight, I will be out of 410!

Right now, I will be doing homework.

How did this all happen?