from an alumnus

so now that this whole college thing has concluded, i wanted to know what the most important thing i can take away from that experience is. i think accepting two things have recently become most pertinent in my quest for a life full of joy and satisfaction. i think they're things that you probably experience too.

1. "why do bad things happen to good people?" seems to be an often asked question. at the heart of the question, i see entitlement that's deeply rooted culturally. "i did this and therefore i deserve that." that's hammers me. the american dream of working to where you want to be. mainly the thought that if you're a good person, good things will deservedly happen to you.

when i dwell on this, the only answer i peacefully conclude is in my faith. i start with why am i here? to glorify the God that made and loves me. how can i best do that? is the answer by having every single thing in life given to me and never experiencing hurt, want or seemingly need? why would i need God if that were true? what's the beauty of a story in which God himself left heaven to die for a people who frankly, lived perfect lives in which they have everything they'll ever want or need?

there's nothing pretty about that, it seems unnecessary under those pretenses. but what is beautiful is knowing our rebellious nature, and that we're going to live hurtfully, selfishly and even maliciously at times because of our freedom to choose, our God lovingly chose to die for us. being the Creator, do you think He could have chose another plan? i do, but we wouldn't quite get him the way we do now. in the words of j packer, "he still seeks the fellowship of his people and sends them both joy and sorrow to detach their hands from the things of this world and attaches those hands to Him." God allows those things to happen because He loves us and wants us to see that life isn't in those things, it's only in Him.

after living a life of pleasure and pain to extremes that it's not likely we'll ever taste, David proclaims in psalms 18 that the "Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer." He's the stable place of protection and comfort. see it's out of great love and mercy that we receive hardship because we see him for who He is in that moment. that for reasons that we can't grasp right now, we don't get that job and our parents get divorced and that great thing we want won't ever be ours. that's rough. but rest in accepting that Jesus is God (colossians 3) and that tells us things about God and that in the moment we hurt, he weeps with us. (john 11:35)

for me, knowing that with a complete lack of regard to circumstances and situations, the reason i feel joy and contentment can't be shaken brings me to a different place and i don't think i knew that in high school. i'll do that other thing soon but i hope ya'll are starting off your summer great, God bless.

-mandy candy