My Search for Perfect U | ChristianCollegeGuide.net

Sometimes I wish God would use Post-it notes. Midway through high school I started getting around six billion college brochures in my mailbox every day. And to make matters worse, they all looked pretty much the same—smiling students, manicured lawns, impressive stats about student-to-faculty ratios. How in the world was I supposed to pick one college out of all those? It would have been so nice to see a little yellow note stuck on one of the brochures:

But since there wasn't any note, I found it difficult to throw away any of the brochures. What if this is the school God has in mind for me? I'd wonder. My collection of brochures quickly grew to an impressive size.

I felt overwhelmed. I didn't really know what I wanted out of college, so it was hard for me to narrow the options. I thought I would like a Christian school, but I wasn't sure. I thought I wanted to be somewhat close to home, but I wasn't sure. The only thing I knew for sure was that my parents couldn't afford to pay for my schooling, so I wanted to find a college that would offer me a decent scholarship.

My first college visit was to a medium-sized Christian university. I went with a friend whose sister attended the school. We were thinking about going there, and decided to visit her sister. We had a good time, and I really liked a lot of things about the school, but I just didn't get the sense that it was right for me.

Next my mom and I visited a large state university. It offered a lot of neat opportunities—clubs and sports and social events—and I was really impressed with it. At the same time, the campus felt like a small city! I imagined myself running a few minutes late and having to catch a taxi from my dorm to class. I wondered if I could feel at home on a campus where I could get lost in the crowd or on my way to class. This wasn't the school for me.

Then my dad and I took a trip to a well-known Christian college. Dad advised me to go there if I could get accepted, and if I could afford it, because of the school's excellent academic reputation. As we followed a student around campus for a tour, I asked God the same question I'd been asking about all the schools: "God, is this where you want me to go?" But still no answer.

One day, a brochure came in the mail that caught my eye. It wasn't the cover photo (a green lawn and smiling students) that grabbed my attention. It was that the school name, "Bethel College," was printed right above my street address—on Bethel Boulevard.

After reading the brochure and checking out Bethel's website, I decided it was worth visiting. So my dad and I made the trip to Indiana during one of Bethel's preview weekends. I had a great time—I really liked the campus, I got to hang out with a lot of the students and meet a couple professors, and I loved the chapel service. All weekend I kept waiting for a sense that this was the place God had in mind for me. But it never came.

I started feeling discouraged. How many campuses would I have to visit before I'd get that "this is it" feeling? How many campuses could I visit? There were only a few weekends before graduation. I needed to make a choice soon.

Then at youth group one evening, the speaker gave a talk that totally changed my outlook. He drew two dots on a piece of paper and drew a bunch of different lines leaving from the first dot. The lines all went in different directions—some were longer, some were winding, some were short and direct—but they all led to the other dot.

"Maybe there's not one right college for you, or one right career." He was talking to the group, but I felt like he was talking directly to me. "Maybe God can use whatever careful, God-honoring decisions you make to fulfill his ultimate purpose for your life."

I lay in bed that night replaying the message over and over in my mind. Maybe God doesn't have just one school in mind for me, I thought for the first time. Maybe I could choose any of the schools I'd visited, and God would be OK with that.

After that night, my approach changed. I still prayed a lot about my college decision, but instead of asking God for some sign or sense about the right school, I started asking him to give me more wisdom and more faith. I decided I had to trust God to take care of me, whatever college I picked.

The decision still wasn't easy. I'd been accepted to every school I'd visited, and a couple schools I hadn't visited—seven in total—and I still didn't have a strong feeling about any one in particular. But I felt much more peaceful about the whole thing. I knew God cared about my college decision and would help me make a good choice. I no longer felt like I was on some impossible search for one right school out of thousands.

I met with my guidance counselor at school, and I talked with my parents about my college options. Together we went over my pro and con lists, and we reviewed our experiences and impressions of the campuses we'd visited. In the end, I chose Bethel. I had really liked the atmosphere on campus, and all the students I'd met were super friendly. It was the right size and the right distance from home. Plus, they'd offered me a stellar scholarship. Finally, I made my decision.

I had an awesome experience at Bethel. I played on the volleyball team and worked as the editor-in-chief of the college newspaper. I spent a semester in China through the school's study abroad program and I grew a ton in my relationship with Christ. I made the wonderful discovery that writing can actually be a job, not just a hobby, and I chose to major in journalism. I formed some deep friendships that are still going strong four years after I graduated.

I never did get that sense that Bethel was the perfect school for me. Sometimes I wish I'd gone somewhere more exotic than northern Indiana. Sometimes I think it would have been a thrill to go to that big state university. But I would never want to trade my experiences at Bethel.

I am so grateful for the lesson I learned about trust in God—trusting him to bring about good even when the circumstances aren't totally perfect, and trusting him for the wisdom to make good choices.

In a very real way, my college search gave me a better understanding of the truths found in this amazing passage: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6, nlt).

I can still picture that piece of paper with all the different lines on it. I like to imagine God—not grabbing the pencil and drawing my path—but gently guiding me and walking with me through my choices in life. And truthfully, I like that idea a whole lot better than the idea of getting a Post-it note.

Maybe God doesn't have just one school in mind for me, I thought for the first time. Maybe I could choose any of the schools I'd visited, and God would be OK with that. I decided I had to trust God to take care of me, whatever college I picked.