Hope Beyond This World

I'm about to wrap up another year of college. It's so hard to believe how fast time goes by! But as I wrap this year up, it seems like there are more uncertainties than before. As much as I would like to stay in California for the summer, it seems God is leading me back to Oklahoma.
Recently, I have thought about the past few years. Two years ago I was in Oklahoma working at a restaurant and thinking about going to TMC the following year. Little did I know what the journey to this very moment would look like. I had no idea that I would understand grace in a way I never thought exsisted or that I would still be single. But, here I am.
As I think about going back home for yet another summer, the path seems mysteriously unclear. Last year I had a new minstry to think about (ARA) and I knew where I would be living and who I hoped to room with. But this year, as the year is coming to an end, I don't know where I will live because my dorm is closing. I don't know how many goodbye's will be final (until eternity). And I don't know what God has in store for next year or even if there will be a next year here at TMC.
The one thing I do know, is that I have a hope beyond this world. My hope cannot be in my friends or my position or the knowledge that I have about anything. Those things all seem to come and go, at this point there seems to be more going than coming. The only place I am able to find peace is in the knowledge that my Father, my Savior, my El Shaddai holds a glorious future for me. He has promised to work it all out for good, no matter how depressing the future looks. How incredible!
So, looking ahead, I have no idea. My one fear is that I will fall back into my old life, before TMC and what God has done. Though I have doubted His faithfulness and sometimes still do, He is faithful, even if I feel like He has failed me and abandoned me. It's all part of the process of becoming who He wants me to be.
In His perfect timing, I will understand why I must go through these times. But until then, He wants me to trust Him because I have no real reason not to. And as much as I try to wander from His loving arms, I have come to realize that I am lost without Him. I love that I need Him! Hallelujah! May we realize our need for Him more every day!