Though worn out with the length of your journey, you never said, “It is hopeless.” Isaiah 57:10
It occurred to me the other day that I am running into more and more young adults who are “stuck,” bouncing around trying to get their lives together. They are many times talented, gifted and educated, but they can’t seem to “get it together” and “move on” into some kind of stable life on which to build a secure future.
I took some time to think about it in depth. After brief reflection, it occurred to me that they fall into four categories:
1. Economic victims — College debt for young adults is a real problem, especially when there is no good job waiting for them after investing more than they can afford in getting an education.
Some borrow more for “better degrees.” Others “settle” for less-paying jobs and drift further and further from their original dreams. Even when I was teaching in the seminary, there were those going into ordination with crushing college debt. Some get relief from the diocese after several years. Others will be making payments till they retire.
2. Victims of their own bad choice — There are those who are suffering from the blowback of their own bad choices. Some are held back by huge credit card debt racked up years ago for expensive cars, clothes and vacations they could not afford, but bought anyway. Barely making interest payments and unable to get a home loan, they are “wasting” money on rent, or worse, still living at home and continuing their spending addiction.
Others, because of experimentation when they were younger, spend all their time, energy and resources battling major addictions. Still others, dropped out of school because it was “boring” or “majored in their hobbies” when they did go through college believing that if they “followed their hearts, the money would follow.”
3. Victims of prejudice — Even though there don’t seem to be as many as there were several years ago, I have met a few who are truly discriminated against because of their gender, ethnicity, handicap or economic background.
4. Victims of trauma — Some are suffering from the consequences of horrible accidents, birth defects, war casualties, gun violence or sexual, physical or emotional abuse.
I do believe, as does author Chris Bradford, that “Anyone can give up. It is one of the easiest things to do. Holding it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart is true strength.”
I believe there is an answer in something I saw on TV once. On one station, there was a young man with a missing leg being interviewed. He was discussing how his life was ruined. On the next station was a champion one-legged skier in the Paralympic Games being interviewed.
I believe that whatever was in the mind and heart of the second young man is the answer. He got up while the other seemed to have given up.
To read more from Father Knott, visit his blog: FatherKnott.com.
