Things do not always go the way you want them to. Of all the lessons I have learned in high school, I believe that this one is without a doubt the most valuable.
If I had written this column a week ago, it would have been about something completely different. However, in light of my current circumstances, I believe this will be a much more appropriate representation of my present mindset.
On my last day of high school, I was flying high: no more finals, no more waking up at 6 a.m. and no more pushing through crowds of people to get to class. To make the day better, I was going to a cupcake-decorating class in my “new” car, which I had helped to purchase.
God had another plan, however. As I was driving home from school, I got in my first car accident, destroying my shiny new car, my right ankle and my plans for the next few days. In about three seconds, my life had been turned completely upside down.
Life, like my plans for the future, is something that constantly changes, especially at my age. Which is why it baffles me that every time I tell someone my age, they expect me to know what I want to do with my life. The truth is, I have no idea.
The lesson God has taught me this year is that I do not control my life. He does. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope'” (ESV).
All I know is that I want to spend my life helping other people be the best they can be. Whether I do this as a high school teacher, a marriage and family therapist, a speech pathologist or a stay-at-home mom, I have no idea. But God does. And I know that if I continue to listen, he will point me in the correct direction and help me to fulfill his plan for my life.
Sure, I could make a solid plan for my life, or even for the next few days. But, ultimately, that plan will be insignificant compared to what God has in store. I have witnessed this truth throughout my senior year.
When the year started, I was convinced I would be attending Azusa Pacific University in the fall. Again, God had a different plan. I had no idea that one of the colleges that pestered me with e-mails would be the one I would fall in love with. Instead of Azusa, I will be attending George Fox University in Newberg, OR.
At the start of the year, we on The Feather were hopeful that we would win another Online Pacemaker Award from the National Scholastic Press Association. We did not even get nominated. While we didn’t get the shiny plaque and bragging rights we were expecting, we became much more unified as a staff and remained confident in our abilities. God knew what we needed.
While I am not quite sure what good is going to come from my latest divine intervention, I have faith that God will bring something good — even if it means wearing an ankle brace to graduation and going without a car for about a month. I know this because my God is good, and in 18 years of life he has never let me down. Not even once.
As I leave high school and The Feather, I leave feeling prepared for what is to come. Writing for The Feather has taught me to be confident in myself as both a writer and a communicator. I know that I can truly do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
Porter will attend George Fox University in the fall, majoring in Psychology with a minor in Literature.
For more senior reflections, read the May 22 column, Realizing success through failure.
