College decisions guided by prayer

“I could be making the worst decision of my life, but something tells me I need to do this,” my friend said as he waved goodbye. He was heading home after deciding to take a leave of absence from college.

A week later, my cousin piled her stuff from her dorm room in her car—she had just decided to transfer to another college. “Well, I could be making a big mistake,” she told me, “but I really need a change and this feels right.”

My friend and cousin were courageous. Both were forging ahead despite any fear or doubt they had about their decisions.

It reminded me of a time in the late 1980s when I too faced the decision of whether to transfer to another college.

I was beginning my junior year at a private liberal arts college and wanted a change. So I sent off some applications, and pretty soon I’d been accepted to transfer at five different universities. Suddenly, I was faced with many options.

At first, I sought the advice and counsel of people whose opinions I respected—my advisor and my family. And yet, their opinions weren’t enough to end my indecision.

To get peace of mind, I had to do more than just seek other people’s advice. Spending some quiet time praying and listening for what God, who I understand to be infinite wisdom, had to say about my situation seemed like a good idea. I knew from past experiences that prayer would help calm my fears, reveal possibilities that I hadn’t considered and direct me toward harmony.

My prayers began with a thought from Science and Health, the book that has shown me how to pray and listen for that divine direction. The author of Science and Health, Mary Baker Eddy, defines God as Mind, infinite intelligence.

I started with the premise that in this divine Mind, the real and only consciousness, there are no unknowns. And as a child of God, I could expect to feel loved, cared for and safely directed in my new adventure. And I could trust divine intelligence to guide me in all of my decisions.

This Bible passage also spoke to me: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and He will direct thy paths.” It didn’t really matter where I was—God’s direction and love would always be with me. As I prayed with this idea, I finally felt calm and clear about what college to attend.

Within the first week of my new adventure I’d found housing, learned the transportation system and even made a few friends. And it turned out to be a great step toward more spiritual growth as I learned to trust God’s wisdom and act decisively.

Oh, and by the way, when my buddy called me, he happily reported he’d been accepted at another university and would take up his acting major in the fall. Similarly, my cousin started classes at a college in her hometown. Both are happy as ever in their new adventures.

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