IPC Pathways Would Have Changed My Life
Steve Parker’s Story
"Often bumpy roads lead to beautiful places. And this is a beautiful place.”
- Nationals Manager Dave Martinez, when the Nats won a trip to the 2019 World Series
On the surface, to an outsider, the life paths I’ve travelled have looked smooth and steady. And for the most part, they have been. Loving family and friends. Great education, a reputable career. (I checked lots of boxes that we were taught as kids to check.) Nominal health and financial challenges.
Surface appearances can be deceiving. Underneath all this “success” I wrestled with deeper questions about my purpose, and the choices I made and whether they aligned who I am with what I do. A few quick examples: I gave up on being a minister despite that being the only thing I considered seriously as a teenager, without talking to a single minister – or really anyone – about it. I went into law without talking with a single lawyer, or really anyone, and without a plan other than that it wasn’t medicine, or big business. I didn’t do much research on the ministry or law. I didn’t know how to find career resources I trusted. And I didn’t experiment by trying out my choices with work experiences until I’d already set my path in motion.
I paid the price for taking this journey solo — bumpy roads filled with self-questioning, anxiety, depression, an ongoing, dreaded sense of lack of purpose. It spilled over from career into other corners of my life. Was I achieving a life of real meaning?
Maybe you know this drill, especially after the last year.
Then I stumbled onto a few mentors and friends, some at Immanuel, who encouraged me to share my stories, reflect on a few good questions, and learn from their stories. These people inspired me to change how I think about my life. They also gave me the courage to reach out to others. All of this helped me learn much more about myself, and what that meant for what I do – in work, at home, in service, with family and friends.
I support IPC Pathways in order to offer young people the opportunities I wish I’d had when I was 17, or 22, or 30, or 35.
IPC Pathways offers youth and young adults – let’s call them “emerging adults” or the Pathways term, “seekers” — opportunities that would have changed my life much sooner. What are these opportunities? They involve easy access to nonjudgmental listeners who share their great values, spirit, and experience through…
Ongoing 3-Person Conversations
Video and Reading Resources That Inspired Immanuelites
Opportunities for Work and Volunteering Experiences Suggested by Immanuelites
So, how do I know Pathways can help get you to a beautiful place? Because in the three years that IPC Pathways has operated, I’ve watched many young Immanuelites benefit from this access. Will it help you pick the perfect career, or make the perfect life choice about how you spend your time on earth? Probably not. But when you travel bumpy roads – and you will, maybe you are right now — Pathways will inspire you to think more consistently, and productively, about aligning what you do in life (workwise and otherwise) with who you are.
Also, Pathways is not just here to benefit seekers. Like many, I’ve found mentoring others can be more rewarding and inspiring than being mentored. If you’re college-age or older, you can mentor others and benefit the same way.
You’ve been officially welcomed to the first edition of Signposts! Going forward we’ll be sharing more stories of how Immanuelites can help you imagine your future – and act on that imagination — through Pathways. The stories will be drawn from our new, completely revamped website.
Explore the new website using the pages linked above!
If you’re an emerging adult (youth and young adults under 40), our goal is for these stories and the new website to inspire you to participate more regularly and more deeply in Pathways.
If you’re in college, a young adult or an older adult, we want to inspire you to be a mentor, and share your experience and wisdom with emerging adults.
We can’t wait to share more with you! But first, we’d like to ask you to engage with us…