Itchy feet

By Lauren Andrews

When I was 12, my family went to Walt Disney World. My family goes to Disney World almost every year. We’ve been blessed to experience this since I was about 11, and trust me, the stories I have about my Disney World adventures are numerous. But this one story is particularly dear to my heart.

So there I was: little Lauren — my family on this particular day at Disney World was at Epcot. For those of you who don’t know, Epcot is the park in Disney World that has approximately two thrill rides and too many old-folk attractions. Thus, 12-year-old Lauren was not interested in Epcot, but my parents were very interested so I had to stick around.

While we were in Epcot, we stopped to eat a late lunch at The Rose and Crown Pub, which is a little restaurant that serves food you would find in the U.K. – think fish and chips. Our waitress was from Scotland, which meant that my family asked her a lot of unnecessary questions just so we could listen to her accent and one of those questions my dad asked was “Why did you come to Florida?” Her answer changed my whole perspective on life.

She said, “I have itchy feet.” This sounds super weird, and most people would think she needs to get some Arm and Hammer or something to fix her nasty feet – but that’s not what she meant. She went on to explain that ever since she turned 17, she had been moving around. She couldn’t stay in one place for a long time because she just needed to move on – there was a drive in her to keep adventuring she couldn’t shake.

Well for a misfit, awkward 12-year-old, these words struck a cord in me and it hasn’t stopped resonating since that moment.

See, the term “itchy feet” hits home with me. I’ve never felt like I’ve really belonged anywhere that I’ve lived. I grew up in good ol’ San Antonio, Texas, but my family moved when I was 10. I knew San Antonio as home, I knew my friends as family, and I knew there will never be a better basketball team than the Spurs. But we left that behind.

We moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where my family currently lives, but it’s never felt like home either. The people I’ve grown to know and love there feel like home, but I know I don’t belong there. I knew I wanted to go to an out-of-state college, unlike most of my Arizona friends. So I abandoned Arizona life and came to Oklahoma Christian University.

Oklahoma – what can I say about Oklahoma? I can say that I love the people here. I can say that I know I’ve found life-long friends here. I know I have attachments here, but I also know this isn’t my home either. My itchy feet are ready to move on.

I have plans for my future. I want to graduate from Oklahoma Christian, go to graduate school, get married, have a family, travel, do mission work, open my own business and do so much more. Realistically, I know I probably won’t do even half the things I want to do, but I’ve never stopped planning my future out.

I’m always looking ahead, always looking for my next adventure, always curious, always seeking out new challenges — I feel like I never stop. It takes its toll on me. I start lashing out at people I love, I find myself miserable with my current situation, and I stop counting my blessings and start dwelling on my misfortunes.

And it’s times like these when the unknowns of my future overwhelm me, and the stress that comes with not always being in control of that future – that I realize God is in control. I understand I don’t need to be in control.

“For I know the plans I have for you … plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope,” Jeremiah 29:11. God is in control.

“Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away,” James 4:14. God is in control.

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own,” Matthew 6:34. God is in control.

So you see, while I’m ready to move on, while I’m prepared for my next adventure, I can relax and find comfort in knowing my God is awesome. He is in control always, for better or worse. All I have to do is let go, and let God guide my itchy feet.

Lauren Andrews is a sophomore at Oklahoma Christian University.

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