The prayer requests were shared as Lindsey’s Bible Study leader made her way around the circle.
“I’m up to my ears in school loans. I feel like I’ll never be able to pay them off.”
“I’ve been struggling with depression ever since I got my divorce.”
“Work is overwhelming me. I wish I had more time for family.”
“I wish I could pursue a job in the ministry, but I can’t afford the lesser pay.”
When Lindsey and I met up for coffee, she told me about the struggles these girls were going through. As I listened these three thoughts came to mind:
- The struggles shared by these girls aren’t the exception these days, they are the norm.
- Most of their struggles could have been avoided if they had planned differently in their post high school years.
- These girls did not appear to be thriving and enjoying life to the fullest in the way God intended.
Life doesn’t just work out.
When I was in high school I lived in a naive mindset. I assumed most everything in a Christian girl’s life would always (somehow) work itself out.
Now that I’m in my late twenties, I’m realizing that life doesn’t just work itself out in our favor.
The choices that me and my girlfriends made in our college age years have totally impacted our lives today for the better or worse.
Like the quotes above implied:
School loans don’t disappear with time. They take real hard earned money that, either you or someone who really loves you, is going to pay off.
Rushed marriages to so-so guys don’t just last. Real life kicks in and infatuation wears off. Without a serious commitment to the marriage covenant and devotion to Christ the marriage won’t make it.
Hard jobs to pay the bills and school loans can’t be traded for a better (but less paying) opportunity. Money doesn’t grow on trees and bad planning may require a girl to stay in a job she hates just for the pay.
I would go on but I think you get the point.
The decisions we as girls make in our post high school years have a HUGE impact on our futures.
Where will your choices take you?
My prayer is that you will think ahead and plan for a better and smarter future. Don’t make the same stupid mistakes that so many of us older girls (me included) have made.
Don’t believe the lie that everything will just work itself out.
I want to encourage you to rethink 3 of the biggest areas where many girls go wrong. These 3 areas can cause a girl great joy or great turmoil.
You can choose to be a smart girl and think through these now, or, you can be an unwise girl and just hope your decisions will work themselves out.
3 Ways Girls Can Plan for a Thriving Future:
1. Avoid Debt
The Bible says, “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender” (Proverbs 32:7).
Now that I’m grown up (or at least older than many of you) I’ve realized how true this verse is. The stress caused by school loans and car payments have taught me that the borrower truly is a slave to the lender. Don’t borrow money just because it seems like the normal option or the only option.
Think long and hard about how that borrowed money could affect your future and then plan smart. Like I’ve mentioned in past blog posts, there are so many post high school options outside of the typical brick and mortar schools. Don’t follow the crowd and get into a bunch of debt just because it’s expected. Be a smart girl and plan for a future that will help you thrive.
2. More Than a Job
Remember that you are worth more than your career or your job. The culture places HUGE pressure on girls to get the job, climb the ladder, and define success in a career. That is so bogus and not helpful at all. Your worth has nothing to do with your job, but everything to with what Christ did for you on the cross. Remember that your career can’t add a single ounce of worth to your value!
I want to challenge you to live for something greater than just a job. When it comes time to decide what you will do with your future, make sure that you keep your ultimate purpose as a Christian on the forefront of your mind. Your job is to make disciples, glorify Christ and make His Name known.
3. Marry Smart
Outside of becoming a Christian, marriage is the most serious decision you will ever make. It truly will alter the course of your life either for good or for bad depending on who you marry. Don’t make this decision lightly and don’t assume everything will just work out. Marriage is hard and takes hard work.
I can’t encourage you enough to wait patiently on God’s timing and seek wisdom and counsel when the time comes. Don’t rush into marriage and don’t marry a guy against the will of the wise people around you. Be smart and marry a guy that will bless your future self, not curse it.
Let’s wrap it up…
The bottom line of this blog post comes down to this one sentence: Smart girls think ahead and plan for a thriving future.
Think of yourself in 10 years, 20 years, 30 years or even 60 years down the road. Plan your life in a way that will be a blessing and not a burden to you at that time.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic. What are you doing now that will help your future self thrive? Are you thinking ahead and planning smart?
