what don't belong to me

Data about our home planet tells us that the earth's surface curves at about eight inches per mile.

Ergo, IF: 

a) your eyesight is top-notch, 

b) it's a clear sky

c) and your view is about five feet off the ground, 

 

you would -- AT MOST -- be able to see about three miles away.

Which is not that far at all. We can see only so far ahead. 

 

This is true, not just in distance, but in life. We can only be prepared ... so far in advance. We can only be usefully anxious ... up to a certain point. Past that, we have to trust God that he'll equip our future self to creatively work with whatever will be before us.

There's this scene from the first Indiana Jones film that shows this ethos.

Indy's on a mission to stop the stealing of a historical artifact (yes, I know there's way way waaay more to the film ... I'm trying to not spoil it ... work with me here). 

 

When all appears lost, the following conversation ensues between Indy and his companions:

 

Indiana Jones: "Get back to Cairo quick and get us transportation to England -- a plane, a ship, anything. I'll meet you at Omar's. Be ready for me. I'm going to get that truck."

Sallah: "How?"

Indy:

This plan contains sufficient detail only up to a certain point. And then: "I have no idea, but future me will think of something." This is a life posture that I'd love to more naturally adopt.

Jesus sometimes teaches this way. He says, "Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble" (Matthew 6:34). Such a non-sentimental posture.

 

The first bit would look glorious on a motivational poster, amiright?

But if that poster shared why Jesus says to not be anxious, it dropkicks that pithy vibe straight in the teeth.

Like a silent fart released in a boutique candle shop, it trades pithiness about anxiety for something more grounded.

Jesus is pragmatic: don't be anxious about tomorrow.

Why? because today has enough to occupy our anxieties.

This sounds like advice from someone who actually knows how anxiety can -- in a matter of seconds -- hijack a day, a meal, a moment, a mood, a conversation, or a night.

… that feeling of trying to will your heartbeat to settle down (and it beats ever faster)
… that feeling of trying to corral your thoughts from cycloning into a a mess (again)
… that feeling of trying to steady your breathing in the middle of the night (when worry pries open your eyelids)
…. that feeling of trying to not send another text or message, when all you want is to hear back

In those moments, someone telling you to ‘just stop being anxious’ or ‘just stop worrying’ does no good. But someone helping you redirect the anxiety to a sensible time frame … this shows compassion. Understanding. Grace. Attainability. This helps.

This is why, when someone offers us sips of this sort of hope, our fears seem a little smaller, and a bit less inflamed. It reminds us that future anxieties don't have to belong to us just yet.

So, is some situation causing you anxiety?
-Probably.

 

Is it a today thing or a tomorrow (or someday after) thing?

-Your answer determines how much weight to give it today.
 

Ergo: is all lost?
-Hardly. You’ll be amazed at what--when you ask God for help and wisdom--future you will work through. So pray about it. Give it some thought, then take a break from thinking about it. Talk to wise people you trust.

After all, we’re sorta making it up as we go, aren’t we? 

 

Prioritize today's anxieties over future anxieties.

you don't want your dream job (yet)

How we sometimes picture how our professional lives will roll out:

 

After graduating from college, we'll land a sweet gig/dream job at a company or organization we love and with whom our values wholly align. 

 

OR, after college, we have graduate school. 

 

BUT once we're done with graduate school, THEN we'll land a sweet gig at a company or organization we love and with whom our values wholly align.

 

Nope.

  

Sorry not sorry for bursting this bubble, but it needs to happen. 

Don't hear what I'm not saying. I'm not saying you'll never land that dream job. But right out after school? Odds are slim. And trust me: you would not want it that fast. Getting too much, too soon can often work against you.

So what'll it actually be like for you? You'll probably meander around in a few different roles, maybe for a few different organizations, before landing in a place where you can drop some roots. 

Like barnacles that attach to a ship hull, you'll pick up useful and random skills along the way that will help you to know. Some jobs won't be your dream setup, but for the time you have them, they'll serve some sort of useful purpose. You have more to learn. We continue gathering skills after college, slowly but surely adding to our professional (metaphorical) toolbox.

But why didn't your parents or family pass to you this nugget of reality and wisdom? 

 

It's probably a matter of innocuous timing. If your parents gave birth to you during this time of their lives, you were too young to remember its details and the grind. But ... if you came along after this time of their lives, then you grew up in the time of their professional journeys where they're a bit more settled; a bit less frenetic. Adult-ing comes in stages.

 

You don't want your dream job (yet) because you want to be ready for it when it does happen. You're not ready yet. You probably won't be ready for that job right out of school, and that's typical. The job will you have will have its fun parts and not-as-fun parts, and that's OK.

 

Having it too early would be like giving a baby an orange to eat. 

If they haven't yet grown teeth, they won't be able to enjoy the food.

 

The Biblical model of humans in life is NOT peaking in your 20's, and then a gentle downhill slope from there. It's growing slowly but surely, and peaking much, much later.

So please: adjust your mindset, and your pace. You're running a marathon -- not a sprint -- and you're only two miles in. Pace yourself, see what's around you. You've got a ways to go. You've got stuff yet to learn. That's how it should be.