A couple weekends ago I had the wonderful blessing of being invited over to a coworker’s house for tea. I had never been to tea before, I even had to ask HJ what appropriate tea attire was, but it was lovely. This woman (Sandy) is a mom of two young adult sons, and she’s had few opportunities to host girly parties in the past, so she asked five of us mid- to late-20 something ladies to join her at her beautiful home. She just wanted to encourage us and show her appreciation for the work we do at Bethel and… well, just to have “the girls” over, I suppose.
The tea was excellent (I think I drank about 10 cups of it), the homemade scones and mini sandwiches were phenomenal, and the conversation was even better. It was a little awkward/funny at times, just to be at this coworkers beautiful home on a Saturday morning, out of the usual work context, pretending to be formal with good posture and pinkies up and whatnot, when all of us know each other better than that. :)
Well, after tea and goodies, we made our way into the living room to continue the conversation. We were chatting about love languages, and roommates, and what we like/don’t like about our jobs, boy prospects, etc. Sandy then posed the question, “So ladies, what do you think is the best and worst thing about being your age, being in your mid- to late-20s?” Each of us just kind of sat in silence for a second, unsure of what to say. All of a sudden I offered this answer, which kind of surprised me even – not how I answered it necessarily, but I’m just not usually the first one to say anything in a group of people.
Anyways, I said, on one hand, the best part of being in our 20-somethings is all the opportunity. You know, at least those of us single people, we’re not tied down to anything really. The opportunities are endless… for travel, relationships, jobs, whatever it is that God has for us… it’s exciting. But the worst part is, just the other side of that - the uncertainty, the unknowns of what all those things mean or of what’s ahead. Who am I going to marry? (let alone go on a date with…) Am I going to stay working at my job for awhile, or should I pursue something else? Is this the best I can be doing, or is God calling me to something different, or am I too unsure to commit to anything? What does the future hold for me?? It can be stressful!
Not only are the opportunities endless, but so are the unknowns — it’s a mix of good and bad. I just have to choose each day how I want to look at it. Do I want to focus on what opportunity might lie ahead of me (a new adventure, a new challenge, a new blessing), or am I going to worry about the future and stress out about those unknowns that I don’t feel in control of? I surprised myself with my answer that morning, it was actually quite the revelationary (is that a word?) thought for me, and it just really affirmed the importance of my One Day at a Time motto for 2009. So that’s that.
p.s. I am so thankful for that morning with the ladies. Ok, not just for that morning, but those ladies (you know who you are) are so SO important to me. ♥
