The Forest

"Well don't worry about the whole forest right now. Focus on the few tress you have in front of you that you have to cut down right now. Some of those trees will fall and knock down others, and pretty soon you'll have reached the other side, but right now focus on the ones in front of you. If you look at the whole forest, it'll seem impossible."

For a while now I've been having a hard time with school. I've felt as though I'm wasting my time and money and just doing thing thing that was expected of me. I'm still struggling with some of that, mostly the part about not having a purpose for being in school. This period of time was supposed to be something where I discovered what I loved and I learned how to do it better, and instead college has become quite a burden for me. As I am looking to my junior year at Iowa State, I have a lot that I need to get done in this coming year. Some things are commitments I made that I just need to suck it up and get through, and some will affect my schooling in the couple years I have to go. All of it seems so overwhelming. I know that this year is going to be busy from beginning to end and I know that I am going to have little time for myself.

As I was expressing these worries to my dad, he stopped me and presented me with the above analogy. I thought it was pretty great and it did a lot to comfort me. He was right- if I look at the whole forest (the next two or maybe even 2.5 years) it's going to seem impossible to conquer, but if I take it all one day, one tree, at a time I'll get through it. And some trees will knock down others, things will fall into place where I didn't expect them to and take care of other obstacles or open new doors.

Everything will work itself out.

And isn't that something that I've been taught about God since the beginning? He is in control. Everything happens according to His plan. God knew the choices I would make that would lead me here and He knows the choices I will make that will get me to the other side of this obstacle that seems so huge just now.