Life after graduation is quite an adjustment. Whether one lands a job right out of college, decides to do a year of service, or needs to do more soul searching before settling down, it is a big life change. Since graduating from UP last spring, I’ve been thinking a lot about my purpose in life. What has God created me to do? How do I know that I am fulfilling that purpose? Do my dreams and goals fit into what God is asking of me, or am I just trying to follow my own shaky compass?
Another challenge, especially recently, is that the definition of success in the world is changing. Success has gone viral in a sense. Due to social media and the influencer movement, it might seem like you are surrounded by peers with perfect lives. It seems to be more and more difficult to shake off the feeling that you are falling behind in life.
After being out of college for less than one year, I realized I was constantly questioning myself and my success. Not only was I questioning if I was walking the path that was created for me, but I was questioning why I was not as materially successful as my peers seemed to be. I soon realized that I was overwhelming myself with expectations that were unrealistic, idealistic, and were not helping me to grow as a person. This unrelenting, hyper-successful mindset I had started to adopt only hindered me from finding authentic fulfillment.
This led me to reflect on one of my favorite Bible passages, Colossians 3:14-16. Ultimately, our one real purpose in life on Earth is to share the light and love of Christ, not only through our big accomplishments, but more importantly in our everyday lives. To fulfill our deepest call in life, we must “let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill our lives.” Not only should we share Christ through our lives, our actions, and our words, but we should also be grateful and give thanks for where we are at this exact point in time. With daily gratitude comes authentic joy and peace knowing how blessed we are for what God has given us. If we want to find success in God’s eyes, we need to be people clothed in love, the people that God has created us to be.
With this in mind, I now see true success in a different light. Filling the smallest moments of our day with the light and love of Christ might not be glamorous or something that goes viral, but it is what gives us true and lasting fulfillment. The next steps in life will follow if we only let go of the world’s expectations and instead follow the call of God in the everyday moments.
Reflection by Catherine Jacobs '18
