Milestones mark movements. They mark the movement from one season to the next. I can’t imagine driving down the interstate with no warning signs of construction or no signs telling me where I am. The signs mark when I need to move. Right now, graduates all over America are missing a milestone, a sign.
It happened too fast. One week I am ready for my last spring break, and the next week graduation is cancelled.
The hardest part of it all is that the class of 2020 had to say goodbye too soon. Yes, there will be a graduation later and we will be able to say goodbye, but we lost two months of eating at the lunch table, sitting next to each other in class, and hammocking together. We lost two months of making memories to say goodbye to.
Although it feels like graduates missed a lot, I believe we have gained a lot too.
Andy Stanley said, “Pain without gain is a shame.”
It would be a shame to walk out of this season of life without gaining anything from it. Life is only beginning. Coronavirus will end. Life will resume and even though it might look different, it will still carry the weight of both burden and joy. The rhythm of life will keep going. There will still be tears to shed and mistakes to make. When those days come, how will these moments have prepared you for those moments?
3 ways the coronavirus can prepare you for life’s challenges:
I. Let this strengthen you.
Discipline yourself to keep your mind and body strong even though no one may be watching. Check your motives and realign with your why.
II. Let this make you flexible.
Don’t beat yourself up when you slip. Let this teach you how to go with the flow even when you have no strict schedule.
III. Let this make you creative.
Don’t be constrained by what you learned in the classroom. Think outside the classroom and be the one to creatively fill the needs around you.
Milestones mark movements. How will missing a milestone move you to improve yourself so that you can improve the world? Make a move and decide to make a difference in the world around you.
Above all, let this teach you where your help comes from. When you’re alone, worried, and filled with fear, there is a man named Jesus who is giving his sustaining grace. He is your milestone that moves you to life and life to the full.
“The thief comes only to steal kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and life to the full.” John 10:10
Jesus didn’t say life to the full when out of quarantine. Jesus didn’t say life to the full when you know your major. Jesus didn’t say life to the full when you have a spouse. Jesus didn’t say life to the full when you make over 100k. Life to the full is for you right now.
Further reading: Psalm 121
nick settles 