Tuesday Truths: Guest Post by Kaci Kust

Today’s Tuesday Truths is a guest post by sports writer Kaci Kust.  Kaci and I connected on Twitter and I am so glad that we did.  She is a very inspiring and talented young woman who you will definitely be seeing more of in the future.  You can follow her on Twitter @KaciKust or visit her website, http://www.kacikust.com

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“And don’t be wishing you were someplace else or with someone else. Where you are right now is God’s place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there.” – 1 Corinthians 7:17

That’s always been a favorite verse of mine – a verse full of comfort – but due to recent events in my life it has proven to hold even truer.

I’m part of what I would consider an extremely ambitious generation. It seems most everyone my age is reaching for a dream goal, and many finding success at a young age. We’re constantly striving to be better. To get to the next step in our career. Make the next move.

I’m absolutely no different. I have a goal to be a sports reporter for a network or team in the future, and it’s something I think about, dream about and work for each and every day.

Now, I want to clarify that my point with this blog post is in no way to say that anything I just described is a bad thing. I simply want to give some perspective that God smacked me in the face with this summer.

I graduated in May after spending all of senior year job searching… hoping to find what I thought would be that perfect job to give me a great start on my career. Being from Cincinnati, it was always an option to move back here. But, if I’m completely honest, I secretly hoped I would find a job somewhere else. I thought I’d seem all grown up and important if I moved to another city, lived in my own apartment, and had a great on camera reporting gig.

Eventually, I decided the best path for me was to take a job as Social Media Coordinator at Ignition APG, an athletic training facility for NFL, NBA and MLB athletes where I worked in the summers during college. I’d also freelance for University of Cincinnati, reporting for their athletics website, gobearcats.com. I felt as though I finally made a decision, and one I was extremely happy with. I’ve always loved working for Ignition, plus I’d get to be on camera for UC. Everything was perfect. Good decision-making, Kaci.

 At least that’s what I liked to think, but what happened next proved to me that it was really God divinely constructing my life plan. None of the job choices I made were completely my decision, they were His. The week before graduation, my dad called to tell me he had taken my mom to the hospital. We almost lost her that day. A trip home, a week full of hospital waiting rooms, a graduation with friends as stand-in parents, a chronic kidney disease diagnosis, and thousands of tears and prayers later – my mom is living proof that you can get through anything, and be stronger because of it.

Where you are right now is God’s place for you.

There is no doubt in my mind that I’m living and working in Cincinnati so that I can be a support system for my mom. Of course, it’s great for my career and life too, but from trips to the dialysis center to girl trips to Target for retail therapy, my mom needed me here. And I am beyond blessed and honored that because of God’s divine construction of my life plan I can be here for her.

I know that, right now, for all of the other people in my life, but also for myself, I’m exactly where I need to be. But before you forget, I’m ambitious and dedicated to reaching my dream career. I’m obsessed with change, even if sometimes it scares me a little. That’s where the perspective I was talking about comes in. The following quote by Francis Chan from his book Crazy Love is so important to remember.

“It is true that God may have called you to be exactly where you are. But, it is absolutely vital to grasp that he didn’t call you there so you could settle in and live your life in comfort and superficial peace.” – Francis Chan, Forgotten God

God called me to be exactly where I am right now. But I’m absolutely certain that He doesn’t call us to be comfortable. I’m working for an amazing company, doing something I love and continually working on my craft as a broadcaster. I’m helping my mom as much as I can, and enjoying being with my parents.

God calls us to trust Him and take risks. While I’m embracing exactly where I am, I also know my 20′s are for learning and growing. So I’m working to better myself every day. To be greater. To take risks. Because as the saying goes, “you can’t steal second base, and keep one foot on first.

Trust that the place to which HE has brought you, is right where HE needs you.

God’s way is perfect, even in the midst of messy imperfection.