After how many years does post-grad life become just life? I haven’t decided, because truthfully, I feel like I was walking the campus merely a year ago.
As I creep up to my fifth year out of college, I’m once again reminded that time doesn’t slow down or speed up, it’s just gone before you realize it.
So, where am I now?
I’m dealing with growing pains.
When I was a kid, growing pains felt like tingling in my legs and a strange kind of soreness. It wasn’t painful per se, but it was uncomfortable.
These growing pains are equally uncomfortable. But instead of laying down and hoping the ride it out, I must take a more active role in nurturing these changes.
Over the last year, I started a new job, one with the future in mind. I’ll admit it’s a great job for me. It’s the first time I’ve had a salaried position and a chance to move up. It allows me to participate in what I love while still having a little time to write. It couldn’t get better, but it could change.
And change is uncomfortable.
I also started looking for a house. I don’t want to rent. I want to build an investment. Again with the future in mind. But I don’t need to tell you about the housing market.
Between not having a chance at a winning bid and looking at some real fixer-uppers, it’s easy to see the possibility of owning slip further away. And while I really want a house, I’m faced with the expensive reality of being a homeowner.
Reality is also uncomfortable.
So yes, on the scale of discomfort, I’m a 4.5 out of 5. But here’s what I know.
While I’m experiencing these growing pains, I know that I will be on the other side of them and realize that I’m just a little taller. Not really, I’m 5’1”, but I will have grown in some way.
The boundaries of my world will have expanded. My strength and endurance will go on longer. My trust in God is a little bit deeper.
These growing pains are setting me up for some great things like having a home, being independent, and becoming a better leader. I look forward to seeing what that will all look like.
Then, I’ll be able to relax and thank God some more. Until the next growing pains start.
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” -Ephesians 3:20-21
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Meahltime
Featured Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
