High School...Then What?

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Six months before I graduated from high school, when I had no plan, I felt as though I were racing at Eric Liddell speed for a giant ravine.  When the day came, I’d hold my breath, take a leap, and hope I made it across! 

 

Yesterday afternoon, five years later, I opened up an old hunter green composition book in which I printed in blue ink, “Life after High School.”  I still remember brainstorming the list, trying to think of every possible avenue to which the Lord might want me to give a wedge of time after I graduated.  Reading over it, I see a lot of opportunies I have completed, a lot of choices I still need to make, and a lot of options the Lord has recently brought that I never dreamed of at the time I wrote the list. 

 

Before I give my (updated) list, a few caveats:

·                     There is no human way to accomplish all of this.  Don’t try to stuff the ravine of the unknown with filler as a way to bridge the gap.  If a few ideas stand out to you, pray about them and bring them to your parents before cramming everything in.

·                     There is one noticeable exception to this list: college.  But I decided that was the old stand-by that everyone would write, so at 18 I left it off.  I still like that logic. 

·                     Be creative.  Just because you desire to stay under your parents’ authority doesn’t mean your list or life will look like mine!  This is just a compilation of a few ideas to get you started and productive. 

 

The List

1.      Memorize the Bible. (1 John, Psalm 119, etc.)

2.      Read at least one nonfiction book a month and write a report.

3.      Bake bread.

4.      Write a book.

5.      Help siblings with school.

6.      Advance in music.

7.      Teach music.

8.      Grow in character. 

9.      Be a servant.

10.  Help other mothers and learn from them.

11.  Put budgeting, buying, and making food into practice.

12.  Garden.

13.  Learn about car maintenance.

14.  Study and delineate Biblical guidelines on marriage, childrearing, and other relevant topics.

15.  Be a helper to my father.  Be a helper to my mother in practice to be a homemaker.

16.  Spend more time in prayer.

17.  Visit nursing homes.

18.  Be ready to defend my faith.

19.  Review First Aid.

20.  Study and apply So Much More.

21.  Write music.

22.  Sew

23.  Work on relationships with my siblings.

24.  Exercise.

25.  Develop other spiritual gift qualities.

26.  Work with a local homeschooling ministry.

27.  Blog!

28.  Look for ways to minister to other girls.

29.  Learn about natural health.

30.  Seek a mentor in an older woman.

 

Morsels to Digest

As a girl wanting to buck the world's status quo, don't get caught up in using your time, but do redeem it.

Don't find fulfillment in filling your schedule, but do be filled with the Holy Spirit and God's mission for you.

Don't measure your worth by your activity, but do judge your diligence by your habits.

It is a constant prayer of mine to be a productive, fruit-bearing woman of God, and I will be praying that for each one of you, no matter what season of life you are in!

What do you have to add to The List? 

 

“worldwide directions" © 2006 Andrea DM. Used under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/.