As I am writing this, I am in my last month of being 28 years old. A few weeks ago I returned

home from a mission trip to the Dominican Republic. I have been a part of four mission trips

now. Every time I’ve made myself available on these trips, the Lord has revealed something

new to me about myself.

On this most recent trip, He showed me that I am not as young as I used to be. I’m not as

limber, not as surefooted; I am getting older. The way the younger men on the trip spoke to me

was not as a peer of their same age (even though I see myself as such) but as an older brother.

In my current understanding, the Lord is calling me to maturity. He is calling me to answer His

call with “I will” and not “I guess.”

When I was a freshman in college I wasn’t sure what to choose for a major. As a part of the

decision process, I took some entry level accounting classes. I found that my type-A brain was

well suited for accounting. Finding balance in a trial balance was satisfying. Spreadsheets were

powerful. I liked the professor, too.

“Do you like accounting?” My parents would ask me.

“I guess.”

“Well if you like accounting, you should be an accounting major. That seems reasonable, right?”

“I guess.”

“Well if you're going to be an accounting major, you should try to get an internship then, right?”

“I guess.”

“And if you get an internship, you may get a job, so you should try to become a CPA, right?”

“I guess.”

Fast forward to August before my senior year, I had just finished my accounting internship which

was my first “real” job. “AJ, we really think you have some great promise, we would like to offer

you a job. Would you like to work for us after you graduate?”

“Yes, thank you!” (Translation: I guess).

This led to a series of events:

1. Losing that job a year later because “I guess” didn’t magically transform into passion.

2. Putting my hope into a business idea and a new boss that could help me become an

"entrepreneur."

3. Leaving that boss on not great terms, getting into sales because what else could I do?

4. Leaving sales because… I studied accounting? What was I thinking?

5. Then going to another job that was even more financially niche than accounting… and

being fired from that job for more inadequacy.

The slope of “I guess” was a slippery one and led me far adrift from any expectations I could

have possibly had for the start of my post-collegiate career.

Although it was painful, as I look back on this series of events, the Lord’s hand was in it the

whole time:

1. Understanding accounting has been a bedrock to my competency in the world of

business.

2. The entrepreneurial idea was a talking point in every job interview I’ve ever had.

3. Working and living far from home taught me how to make food for myself.

4. The sales job showed me the value of hustle.

5. Being fired from the niche finance job catapulted me back into getting an MBA, which is

what led to my job now, and that job stemmed from the Dominican Republic mission trip

that I just went on!

Today, after nearly three years of walking with the Lord instead of against Him, I have to ask

myself: 'Wouldn't it have been better if my "I guess" to people was an "I will" to the Lord?’ I can

confidently say that the “I will” is what He has been calling me to in the last three years.

I can’t predict where He will take me now any more than I could have then, but what has

changed is the peace I have day to day. What has changed is where I put my identity. What has

changed is the meaning found in the difficulty.

In the last 7 years of working, I have driven over 250,000 miles. Saying "I will" to the Lord

means I finally get to step out of the driver’s