Sometimes, life looks a lot different than you thought it would. Actually, most of the time.
Typically, we like to make a plan of how we think our life is supposed to go; however, God often has a whole different story in mind. In light of the recent events regarding the Coronavirus, a lot of students on campus and across the whole United States are having their plans turned upside down. And it all came completely out of the blue.
It is hard and confusing, but those times can ultimately make you appreciate what is to come.
Riley Brashier, a senior communications major, is constantly having his plans flipped, turned or simply end up completely different than he had first imagined.
But thankfully, because his plans were suddenly changed, our campus at Union was impacted for the better.
Brashier is a sports guy. He played basketball growing up, and it’s why Brashier was headed to Union University as a senior in high school.
During Brashier’s senior year, he visited Union, met with the coaches, tried out for the basketball team and received a small scholarship.
However, plans changed.
“I had trouble with my knees where I couldn’t even play a whole season. You can’t play a whole season; there’s no point in paying to play,” Brashier said. “So at that point I wrote off Union entirely. I was like, ‘If I’m not gonna play basketball, I don’t wanna go here.’”
Brashier’s next step was to find a school where he could have the most fun. This led him to Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., where he felt like he didn’t have to focus so much on working hard or leaning into his faith. He was tired of that. He just wanted to have fun.
“It was different than I expected,” Brashier said. “It was what I went in for. I guess I just got tired of trying to do so much work. I just tried to lean into myself and have fun all the time.”
However, the fun quickly got tiring, Brashier told me.
Plans changed.
He moved back home and attended a small community college, trying to get back on track school-wise. It was during this time that he felt the Lord put Union back on his heart.
Plans changed.
There were a lot of unknowns, like scholarships, decisions about a major or simply the steps to get to Union. Brashier’s father, as well as other relatives, had attended Union, so it was always in the back of his mind.
“Through lots of prayer, another visit and talking with people who I knew here, I decided this was a place to at least give another shot,” Brashier said.
Within a week, Brashier knew Union was home. He attended Union’s Welcome Week for new students in the fall of 2018, where he was put into a group with other transfers. He told me he met some of his very best friends that week, including his girlfriend, Taylor Cavett, a senior nursing major.
Brashier has now been at Union for a year and a half. He has gotten very involved with activities such as Welcome Week, Alpha Tau Omega, serving in the children’s ministry at Englewood Baptist Church, intramurals and, after 7 tries, declaring a major in communications. He was planning on graduating in May.
But, plans changed.
Brashier was going to have to really cram his schedule this semester in order to graduate on time, and it made him really upset that he wouldn’t be able to graduate in the spring. But since plans in his life have continued to change, I could tell Brashier understands that change doesn’t always have to be bad.
He expressed to me that he is grateful he has to add another semester because that means he gets to add more opportunities. He now gets to be a leader for Welcome Week again, which is his favorite week. Welcome Week was crucial for him as a transfer because he knew it was there for his benefit. Now he wants to help new students make Union their home, too.
Tyler Estes, a junior Christian studies major, was a transfer student in the Welcome Week group that Brashier led in fall 2019.
“If Riley wasn’t my Welcome Week leader for my transfer group, I would have never guessed that he was a transfer student, too,” Estes said. “And I think the fact that Riley is a transfer plays a part in everything he does on campus. He makes everyone feel included and welcomed because he knows how it feels to be the new guy. He’s the type of guy that makes you want to make the most of the time you have left at Union, no matter how much time it is.”
Brashier has no idea what’s going to happen next semester. Most of his friends are graduating this semester; not to mention, this semester has changed for everyone on campus due to the national pandemic.
Plans just keep changing.
But, with plans changing, I think we can all learn something God continually has been teaching Brashier.
“I’ve always been so future-focused and looking towards the next thing, so an extra semester is the Lord saying, ‘Take a step back and realize you got time, and it’s gonna happen in My time, not yours.’”
Sometimes life looks a lot different than you thought it would. Sometimes your knees blow out and ruin a scholarship. Sometimes you change schools and majors several different times. Sometimes you have to take another semester. Sometimes a virus causes classes to be online.
Plans change.
“I wish I could have been here all four years,” Brashier said. “With that being said, I wouldn’t have been able to appreciate it.”
Learning to appreciate change can be tough. But I think we can all take a page from Brashier’s book. God’s sovereignty and timing is better than we could ever imagine.