Where do you want me to be Lord? Where do you want me to go?
I’m really not worried, but sometimes I’d just like to know.
What does the future hold? What would it be like to know?
But no matter what, no matter where, I am willing to go.
While counseling in prison, one man came to my co-worker and me. He had serious tattoos, some of them obviously gang-related. He typically gave off a persona of a tough “don’t mess with me” type of guy. Now he looked nervous, uncomfortable, and a bit deflated. We asked him what was going on. He said, “In two months I will get out of prison and I don’t know if I can make it on the outside. I came to prison when I was 15 and now I’m 31. I have been in prison longer than I have been out. I don’t want to come back. The only job I ever had was dealing drugs. I never even had a driver’s license. What can I do? What’s it going to be like out there?”
Similarly, while counseling students at BYU-Hawaii, they would come for counseling just prior to graduation. They would share their feelings of great anxiety and their worries about “what’s next.” They felt unsure about their education, possible career paths, meaningful relationships, etc. “What’s it going to be like out there?”
How often have we come to a crossroads or a new beginning in life and wondered “what’s it going to like out there?” Maybe we were headed off to school or on a mission or seeking for and marrying an eternal companion? Maybe it was moving on as a single. Maybe it is moving to a new location. Maybe it’s starting a career or a change in careers? Maybe it’s about having children or having more children or not being able to have children. Maybe we wonder what it will be like entering retirement. Of after a death or a divorce or whatever that next “out there” might be. Maybe we had similar thoughts when left the presence of our Heavenly Parents to come into this mortal experience: “What’s it going to be like out there? What’s next?”
Maybe we don’t know exactly what is next, but our dear prophet President Russell M. Nelson has taught that we can find joy in the journey. He said: “Saints can be happy under every circumstance. We can feel joy even while having a bad day, a bad week, or even a bad year! My dear brothers and sisters, the joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.”
He continues: “When the focus of our lives is on God’s plan of salvation … and Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is happening—or not happening—in our lives. Joy comes from and because of Him. He is the source of all joy.” (General Conference, Joy and Spiritual Survival, October 2016)
Elder David A. Bednar offered this counsel on moving forward and relying on the spirit of revelation: “In many of the uncertainties and challenges we encounter in our lives, God requires us to do our best, to act and not be acted upon (see 2 Nephi 2:26), and to trust in Him. We may not see angels, hear heavenly voices, or receive overwhelming spiritual impressions. We frequently may press forward hoping and praying—but without absolute assurance—that we are acting in accordance with God’s will. But as we honor our covenants and keep the commandments, as we strive ever more consistently to do good and to become better, we can walk with the confidence that God will guide our steps…” (General Conference, The Spirit of Revelation, April 2011.)
What’s next? We make plans and set goals and trust the Lord. “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
And the wise counsel of our former prophet President Ezra Taft Benson: ““Men and women who turn their lives over to God will discover that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, raise up friends, and pour out peace. Whoever will lose his life in the service of God will find eternal life.” (President Ezra Taft Benson (1899–1994), “Jesus Christ—Gifts and Expectations,” Ensign, Dec. 1988, 4.)
May the Lord bless us to move forward with faith in our own “what’s next” in our lives.
p.s. We usually did not hear about all of our clients after they leave prison, only when the inmate grapevine had news that someone returned. And we heard nothing negative in this case. Later we sought the success stories of men who got out on probation, earned a release from probation in 7 – 10 years through good behavior, having steady employment, living drug and alcohol free, completing therapy on the outside, having healthy relationships, and obeying the law. We created a video of these success stories as witnesses to men still in prison that they absolutely could succeed “on the outside!”
