Stepping Forward

The exploration has begun on a wider road once again. Listening to the advice of my friends, I have been asking God what it is that He wants me to do, where it is that I am to step next in this fleeting life. It's interesting to have a passion for one thing, go to school for it, and then find that a few years later the direction is beginning to take on new roads, unanticipated scenery.
You see, these last few years I've been working full time to pick away at my student loans so that I can work overseas with youth. I still very much desire that, however there is a possibility to take the opportunity to learn more along the way. Baseball great Yogi Berra said, "If you come to a fork in the road, take it." That doesn't exactly give much direction, does it? No, but I'm going to keep stepping forward knowing that God will lead and direct as He shows the path, banking my faith on the character of God that doesn't change. He we can trust.
School seems to be a very viable option for me to pursue knowledge that can take me forward. Over and over again, I have been encouraged to look at the option of going back to school. This would be not just to gain some unnecessary knowledge and unwanted debt, but because God has given me a good mind to use, and so therefore I should be continuing to expand my horizons. Perhaps somehow God will put together the dream of working with youth with the skills to meet their physical needs. I really believe in a holistic ministry, meaning meeting the needs of the whole person, physical, spiritual, mental. In fact, that was the subject of my final 20 some page paper in college. Doesn't it make sense that I should pursue a field that would contribute to making that belief become possible? I don't know how or when or if God is going to put things together, but I am going to walk with Him, by His grace, daily seeking what He may hold for tomorrow and yet living for today. Our lives pass before our eyes and if I can be used by God to do anything while on this earth, it is to make a difference in people's lives, and not just any difference, but a life changing difference.

A quote to sum up what I'm thinking and the path I want to take:

"To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch... to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded!" -Emerson