Rejoice in the Lord always!! … Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Phillipians 4: 4–7

I am one of those foolish people who opt to spend part of their degree in another country … This has had its ‘one or two minor disadvantages’, like missing my fiance (my parents deserve a medal for their patience and support while I have been away!!) and close friends, and knowing that many friends won’t be around next year … Maybe empathising with Psalm 137:4 is slightly over dramatic, but it’s easy to feel overcome by loneliness and a sense of futility when you find yourself stranded in a place you don’t particularly want to be, with not a lot to do outside academic studies, particularly if you’re used to being busy.

However, God can use any circumstances to His advantage, if only we will let go of our fears and our negative attitudes, and trust Him confidently … I have found Psalms 121 and 139 very helpful.

A year ‘away’ can allow you to explore and develop new interests, to make a whole new group of friends, to explore new ways of doing things, and even to start afresh in the same way that you can when joining university. Equally importantly, it allows you to take a step back from your so-called ‘normal life’, to look at it from a distance, to re-focus and prioritise … and give a little extra time to God.

So if, like me last year, you are leaving behind security and happiness to go away somewhere, it will be tough, especially at the beginning, but wherever you are God is always there ahead of you, and you are there for a reason! No part of life is futile, nor is there such a thing as a ‘time out’ …even if we with our short term vision or ‘head-in-the-clouds-thinking-of-the-future’ mentality can’t see the point of what’s happening.

One thing I hope I’m finally learning (even if rather slowly) is to let God use my circumstances to help me grow rather than fighting against them. I’m slowly learning that joy and peace come from willing acceptance of what God presents us with, not from the meeting of a particular set of personally chosen criteria …

My lord God, I have no idea where I am going, I do not see the read ahead of me, I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

Thomas Merton

Clare Richardson