Message from the President…. Fear of Mistakes
One of my grandfather’s favorite sayings was that we should not let fear of mistakes override the excitement of trying something new. I recently shared this advice with my oldest daughter who is in the process of making the biggest decision of her teenaged life – what college to attend. In continuing with my reminiscence, I recalled that he would also say that when facing a major decision, learn as much as you can about the matter. So, my daughter and I created a complex spreadsheet which outlined and ranked over 20 colleges and universities on a dozen key factors – with specific focus on fields of study, NCAA conference, distance from home, graduation and retention rates, crime on campus, quality of food programs, virtual tours, and even YouTube reviews… just to name a few. Ella is following a very logical process but as the days come and go, she is feeling less confident and more frustrated in the pending event. Her mom and I continued to give her reassurances and plenty of hugs but her fear of making the wrong choice persisted. Finally, our youngest daughter came to the rescue by stating something very simple. She said, “Ella, don’t you remember what we learned last Sunday at church… about how we can seek God’s Face and He will guide us with His counsel? The instructor encouraged us to go ahead and make the decisions we needed to do and pray that His will to be done in the matter but most importantly, we should release the results to God.” We all just sat there in amazement over what this 15-year-old girl was reciting because she was so right! When choices need to be made, anxiety can cloud our thinking – perhaps even immobilizing us. The remedy is to remember that He is with us and for us. We do not have to perform well for God to keep loving us. Absolutely nothing, including our worst mistakes, can separate us from our Loving God. Again, some heavy advice from a little youthful soul. More to come on the “final” college selection – I promise.
