Each phase of life offers us a ‘baptism by fire’

    We all have experienced times in our lives when it seemed that everything that could possibly go wrong has gone wrong. In the chaos of our everyday lives, it’s easy for us to throw our hands in the air and give up. But what if, instead of getting upset and frustrated, we take a moment to “let go and let God”?
    As an undergraduate college student, I remember the days when I would think that nothing was going right. It was usually around midterms or finals, when I had been working constantly on a paper, only to have my computer restart for an update or I was too excited about finally finishing and I would hurriedly close out of a document without saving it. Those experiences seemed to be the end of the world: all of my hard work was gone, and I had to start over.
    How different life seems now. As a graduate student, I’m still writing papers and I still experience the frustrations of forgetting to save or saving incorrectly, but chaos takes its toll on much greater concerns: flat tires, unexpected costs of utility bills, broken radiators or heaters, etc.
    Taken at different stages during the month, these problems, while still troublesome, would be much more manageable. But when these problems happen within the course of a week, it’s  easy to give in to frustration.
    Often it seems that the young adult phase leads into maturity and responsibility. But what prepares us for the chaos of life, particularly after living according to a regimented schedule? We move from living at home and going to school, to living in a dorm and going to school, to living on our own and juggling jobs and school.
    I am often amazed at the accuracy of the cliché “baptism by fire,” for it seems that the “transition,” if we can call it that, of graduating college to life in the real world is founded upon learning things the hard way.
    I remember my first day as a summer intern at the Clarion Herald. I had been prepared to sit back and learn the ropes of a journalist in the real world, as opposed to a journalism student on a college campus. I was in for quite a shock: first, it was press day, so everyone was busy with editing and layout; second, an electrical transformer blew, cutting off power to the entire building. The AC stopped working, and we had to scramble.
    As everyone frantically grabbed computers and paperwork, the entire staff headed to Loyola to begin working. It was chaotic, but I survived, and I distinctly remember being told that I had been baptized by fire. Such a true statement!
    This is exactly what happens as we begin to take on our responsibilities as adults in our confusing society. Of course things never work out exactly as we had planned.  There are days in which it seems the problems are endless and weeks where problems are compounded and we find ourselves at our wit’s end. Yet it is in precisely those times that I find myself throwing my hands up and looking toward God, almost asking him, “You got me in this mess – now, help me find my way out of it!”
    It is when we are at our worst, when we think that we cannot go any further, that God steps in to our lives in small ways, showing us the path and guiding us back on track. It is during those moments that we see God, when we can let go, knowing that by placing our trust and faith in him, everything will work out according to his plan.
    Heather Bozant Witcher can be reached at [email protected]