To the Girl That’s Figuring it Out

Hey girl,

Are you trying to figure everything out? If so, we probably need to chat. (This blog is also for myself, ha!)

I attended church about a month ago, and they were honoring the high school seniors going to college in the fall. I really wanted to bawl my eyes out, if I'm being totally honest with you. I didn't know any of them, but when they called the parents and family up for prayer, that's what got me. It also reminded me how big a transition they're about to step into, and I could feel the mix of emotions in the room.

Some are excited, fearful, anxious, nervous, and ready for the next chapter. When I was a graduating senior in high school and in college, I felt every feeling you could name. Fear drove the car instead of God, and that’s been a lot of my life. I hate to say it, but it still kind of is. I’m working on it. Fear is just a distraction to keep you and me stuck.

The thing is, in each of those moments, I was trying to figure everything out, trying to plan every step. I guess that's because I'm a type A person and I like to know what's going on. But I'd love to let y'all know that I'm 31, and I still don't have it figured out. I'm not sure I ever will.

That's so encouraging, right?

I know, I know. It's really not... at least not to the type A person.

But what if it's actually an opportunity to lean in and trust God more? What if you don't have to have it figured out because He already does?

You're going to think you have it all figured out, and then something is going to come along and absolutely knock you to your knees — or maybe put you on cloud 9. There's a lot of life that swings between those two extremes, but the majority of life is actually lived in the in between.

I'm trying to find it encouraging that I don't have to have it all figured out, that I can trust God, who knows infinitely more than I ever could. I am learning to trust Him even when my mind starts spinning and searching for certainty. Our brains love certainty, isn't that kind of funny? Because let me tell you what's not certain… life. You may move to a big city, you may marry the love of your life, you may get that college degree — or none of that may happen. Still, there's so much we think will give us the comfort of finally figuring it all out.

But maybe the certainty of figuring it out is actually just living it out, releasing the plan, and trusting the One who already holds it. "Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10 doesn't mean life stops or there's nothing left to do, it means we stop trying to control what was never ours to control in the first place. It's a posture.

Proverbs 16:9 says it better than I ever could: "In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps."

We were never meant to have it all figured out. That's not a flaw in the design, it's the whole point. Because a life where you already know every step doesn't require faith, and faith is exactly where He meets you.

So, to the girl trying to figure it all out: you can put it down. Not because it doesn't matter, but because the goal was never to figure it out — it was always to surrender, trust, and have faith in the One who holds it all. You do not need all the answers to move forward; you only need the One who already holds them.