Today I read an article on Relevant Magazine.com called “What To Know When You’re 25(ish)” by Shauna Niequist (article after the jump).  The name of the article caught my attention for two reasons:  1) I’m 25 and 2) I have recently had some interesting conversations with friends of mine about our current stages in life.

I thought that Shauna did a great job with highlighting some things that we in our mid-20’s (and later 20’s) are facing in our faith, life, and community.  She covered a lot of the topics that I expected to be covered but her insight made for an excellent article.

Here are some of my thoughts on what Shauna said.

• “Twenty-five is also a great time to start counseling” — I completely agree with her assertion that there is a healthy benefit to counseling.  A lot of us think of counseling is for those people who are screwed up, the “dysfunction junctions” that we know.  Friends of mine and myself, people that I believe no one would ever label dysfunction, have been in counseling because of the benefit we see in processing through even the things we have question about, let alone the things that can deeply bother us.

• On finding a church — This is a struggle that I’ve heard from several of my friends, that finding a “good church” is so hard nowadays.  It’s not really that much harder than when our parents were searching for a church 20 or 30 years ago but now we’re in their shoes.  It can be intimidating, it can be frustrating.  Don’t let it.  Push through any awkward situations of not knowing anyone at the church and find what works for you.

• “Don’t get stuck!” – I believe that this section contained some of the most important truths.  I loved what Shauna said in this part, “There is a season for wildness and a season for settledness, and this is neither. This season is about becoming.”  I’ve seen too many adults in their late 20’s look up and realize that they really haven’t made any significant start to the rest of their life.  They’re stuck in a job outside of where they got their degree, still living at home, and mired in uncertainty (I’m looking at you, grown boys.)  Get up, make some decisions, and get the momentum going in your life.

If you find yourself around the mid-to-late 20’s age bracket, I would encourage you to read Shauna’s article.  Wrestle with it and see if any part of it echoes with where you’re at in life.  If you see changes that need to happen, make the changes now instead of wishing you did one, ten, or even twenty years from now.