Table for four? Right this way," the hostess said, leading my friends and me toward a checker-patterned booth. "Hey, Paula, we'll have our usual," I called to the waitress heading toward us. Paula often served my friends and me when we met each week for lunch. I looked forward to these lunches at Pizza Hut. Not only did we share good pizza, but we also shared fun conversations. Shortly after we started talking, however, I realized today's chat wasn't going to be much fun. We were all seniors, and our conversation drifted toward our plans after graduation. "I am so glad I decided to go to the University of Missouri in the fall. It's going to be great!" Jeff said confidently. "I decided to study pre-law." "I'm gonna major in business, and start my own company," Kevin said. He sounded so sure. "Teaching major at Hope College!" Lauren said excitedly. "What'd you decide on, Allison?" "I haven't decided anything yet," I said, feeling frustrated. "I don't know where I want to go. I don't know what I want to do. I can't make up my mind," I lowered my head. "You don't have much time to decide," Kevin lectured. "The fall is closer than it seems. You need to pick something. Your future depends on it." Kevin didn't mean to hurt me, but his words stung. It seemed my future depended on a single decision—a decision I still hadn't made. My fear of making the wrong choice had kept me from making any choice at all. At home that night, I sat for hours at the kitchen table, surrounded by the college acceptance letters, a stack of flyers and list after list of possible careers. I thought. I prayed. I read. Still, nothing came to me. "Why can't I figure this out?" I yelled. "Everyone else knows what they are going to do! But I'm terrified that I'll make a mistake. What if I don't succeed?" I swept all the papers to the floor in one motion, revealing my Bible, which had been buried in all the clutter. I flipped through some pages until I found Colossians 3:23 (NIV): "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." Whatever you do. I took a deep breath and felt better. This verse didn't spell out exactly what school I should go to or exactly what career I should choose. But it reminded me of what's most important: No matter what I chose to do or where I decided to go, God would be there. Whether it was a pre-law program, elementary school teaching, or something completely different, what matters is that I'm doing it with all my heart, to praise and please God. Kevin had more college questions for me the next week at Pizza Hut. This time, I had an answer: "Kevin, I don't know where I'm going to go to school yet and I don't know what my career will be, either. But I do know who I'm going to work for. Whatever I do, I'm going to work for the Lord." Allison is a freshman at Covenant Bible College in Quito, Ecuador. Copyright © 2004 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
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