There Will Be Time

Kay Wuollet | The Voice of Zion November 2023 - Youth Column --

As a child, I always wanted to be older, and I wished the time would speed up. The flow of time in my child eye seemed to drag on and on. “When I get older…” was often in my mind. Now as I reflect on my childhood, I see how those years passed quickly. 

When my high school years were winding up, the time came to consider the opportunity of opisto. “Do I want to go? Would I enjoy it? What will I do if I don’t go to opisto?” These were questions that I turned over and over.

Then May came. School ended, and summer break arrived! I decided to apply for the opisto program and a scholarship. After submitting the application, an email notified me that I should hear back from the LLC in early September regarding the scholarship. 

Time went on and seemed to run away. Busy with day-to-day duties, I watched the months slip by. This time of waiting, from May to September, was eventful for me. My summer started with serving as a counselor at Kamp Kipa. After the youth camp season was over, I continued working part time at a retail store. Many lake days filled up the remaining hot weeks of Arizona summer. Our family received the blessing of a new baby, and I attended summer services in July.

At last, the end of August approached and I anticipated a letter of acceptance to opisto. September. My phone rang one afternoon while I was at work. The caller happened to be Mom. “You’ve gotten mail from the LLC!” she told me. I immediately thought of my application. I felt nervous excitement. As soon as I got home, I opened and read the letter. I’d been granted a scholarship and was accepted to Reisjärvi opisto.

I felt lucky to receive this once in a lifetime opportunity, but my mind started wandering. “Will I be alright? Who will I go with? Will I be with any friends? My little siblings will grow so much. I will miss my family and friends. So much will change when I am gone.” These thoughts come even though each of us eventually leaves our childhood home. Would my time to leave come sooner than later? 

Then, I thought of how fortunate we are today – we can video call. I will still be able to see the familiar faces of my loved ones. After more thought, I decided to accept the scholarship. In less than a year, I will be at opisto in Finland.

Again, I wait for time to pass. I worry about how my time away will go, and I have put my trust in God.

As I ponder my studies in Finland, I wonder if I will pick up the Finnish language easily. I hope to the learn Finnish while I am at opisto, but I know it will take time and patience. And a year will pass quickly.

Time comes and goes – an eyeblink – yet some days it stands still. I’ve relaxed my worries about how my time in Finland will go, because I know God already has a plan for me. As I also wonder what other Americans and Canadians will go to opisto and to which opisto they go, I have concluded that what happens is planned by God for each of us. We will each meet many, many young believers from Finland, Sweden, the U.S. and Canada. These friendships will be a blessing for our lives.

We do not know God’s plan for us, yet we can put our trust in him, and know that he is the teller of all time. The time of our birth, the time of our death, and the time of everything in between.