...On Question Marks and Futures + Pics of My Journal

Just flipping through my journal the other day and took some pictures of the words inside....you should try it! It's amazing what suddenly POPS out at you.

(Thought I'd try one post scaring you all by randomly spitting out my thoughts as they come, pretty much. Let me know if you're overwhelmed (haha), and I *may* try not to do it again. No promises.)

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Question marks. Such a weighty little curve & point, really. You know when you can just feel a question mark grogging up the air around you, sealing people's lips so nobody can say a word but everybody wants to? I think people say that a question 'hangs heavy in the air'.  Yes. It does sometimes.

It can also cling heavy on paper. We find them scratched into loaded and ever-shifting schedules (or at least we should...you know that millionth thing you cross off and put on a different day, or maybe cancel altogether? Don't be paranoid, but maybe that thing should have a question mark after it.)

We put question marks on the end of our sentences, and maybe they aren't always so weighty--the smaller, "Did it rain at your house yesterday morning?"; the heavier, "How are you doing...really?"; and perhaps some of the weightiest of all, "How?" and "When?" and especially..."WHY?"

(bless yourself by saying each of those last three to yourself in a deep and mysterious voice, with a large pause after each one...)

Maybe I'll get to some of those questions on another post (though I doubt it), but I really wanted to dive into a specific question mark that's been on my mind lately. Not those on schedules, and not on sentences,

but on futures.

A huge question mark appears in a lot of people's minds when they think of the future. Why? Partially because you can't really predict what you're life is going to look like in a few years, or even what it's going to look like TOMORROW for that matter. And partially because we're curious, or because we want to know that we're on our way to making an impact in the world.

To be very honest with you, I was pretty scared to be done with high school. There was something so secure about having school, and no one really expecting you to know anything just yet. "You've still got time," they'd say when you told them you weren't sure what you'd be doing after high school. And they still do say things like that at your graduation party, but it certainly feels like a lot more pressure then, even if they are being supportive, or just wanting to invest in you somehow. Know what I mean?

I was listening to Matt Maher's A Future Not My Own the other day, so I know it's not just people fresh out of high school that ask the question about their future, or have it asked of them.

There's a thin line drawn for people of all ages these days when it comes to futures, with a lot of pressure from a lot of sources, sometimes sources that you hope wouldn't emanate pressure. (by the way, Google describes the word 'emanate' as 'of something abstract but perceptible'--and doesn't this question about our futures feel this way sometimes? Abstract...yet perceptible.) There's pressure for young people to go to college, to have a significant other, to make good grades, to get a job, to know 'exactly what we're going to do' for the rest of forever. Even when you're challenged to envision yourself five or ten years from now, you're expected to have some of this stuff figured out already.

Ours isn't the only generation to consider it, not at all; it just looks a little different for different people. I think of people older than me, and I guess they must be mindful of futures, too. Only, they may not only ever think of their own futures, they're likely to be thinking of the futures of people around them, too. Of their children, especially, and their actions are often based on that question--If something happens to me, what will happen to them? What if what they are doing right now harms them in their future?, etc, etc.

Then for the elderly people, they're expected to retire, to spend the rest of their days in relaxation, wealth, rockers on the back porch, and visits to grandchildren.

Listen, there's a lot of pressure, and a lot of expectation, and fear is easily compatible with both. But we can't give way to fear (though left to ourselves, we probably will...) and if we think we're the only ones who struggle with the question mark at the end of the future, we're wrong. (2 Timothy 1:7;1 Peter 5:9b)

We need to return always to the truth of God's timeless Word when we are tempted to fear we will 'miss it' or think we're headed the wrong direction or aren't sure what God wants us to do or be or say or whatever. (Matthew 6; Matthew 10:19; Psalm 143:10)
Remember that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and FOREVER (even in that future you're so worried about-see Hebrews 13:8), remember that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him (Hebrews 11:6), that He is faithful and just and trustworthy, that He cannot lie, that His promises and His Word stand forever, that you are His delight. Run hard after Jesus, people, and don't look back. (Hebrews 12) Keep in His Word, listen for His truth to combat the lies of the enemy. Know He holds everything---right now, yesterday, and tomorrow and forever and ever and ever. If you truly seek Him in everything, you're NOT going to 'miss it'. Keep asking Him to show you the way, and He will.

I like how Will Reagan in United Pursuit's Hidden puts it, "Now I am hidden in the safety of your love. I trust Your heart and Your intentions. I trust you completely. I'm listening intently. You'll guide me through these many shadows."

Ah, I think, I think, I think...but what do you think?

What are your thoughts on question marks in general?
What are some Scriptures that have stood out to you as you're stepping into your future?

Keep pressing hard after Jesus; hide in Him!! (oh, and read Hebrews ☺)

Blessings & Love,
Georgie Grace