clarification

I fear I may have been misunderstood to some degree with my last post, based on the comments I have received both on-line (including on the link on facebook) and verbally.  While it is true that I expressed my own personal dreams, my point in writing was not for myself only.

I have full confidence in God and His ability to orchestrate the events of my life to fulfill His perfect plan.  My concern is truly with the dilemma which our society has provided to many young women today.

Our society is increasingly delaying the age and time for marriage.  In doing so, women who desire marriage and family are forced to enter into a career for a seemingly prolonged time.  Granted, for some women this "prolonged time" is only a few short years, but for others this "prolonged time" can be well into their 30's.  It is growing more and more common for women headed to their 20-year high school reunion to be traveling there with a toddler (or sometimes even with a full, round belly up front!).

Understanding that a women is entering into a stage of her life which involves a career comes with two major ideas. 

First, that this "stage of life" is ambiguous.  Like I mentioned already, this stage of life could be for a few short years.  But there is no guarantee that this stage of life will ever come to an end.

Second, because this stage of life is ambiguous, there enters a pressure to embark on a career which can be enjoyed in the long-term.  Should the ambiguous unfold into a permanent status, a woman wants to be doing something which she can enjoy as her life's work.

Now, to get to the point of the dilemma which I attempted to articulate yesterday.  For many women, the career she chooses involves a certain level of required training.  And this required training often involves time at a college, university, or trade school.  Attending one of these institutions requires money, and since most families (especially with today's economy!) are unable to pay for college outright, the woman who desires to be a SAH (stay-at-home) wife and mother finds herself taking on student loans.

But taking on student loans means that these loans must be repaid.

So, now let's look at the hypothetical.  We now have a young woman who has the average in student loans (roughly $20,000) and meets the man of her dreams, gets married, and wants to start having children and raising a family.  But she is bringing into that family the added burden of $20,000 in loans (which can be in the ballpark of $350-400 in a monthly payment if the family is trying to pay off this loan in 5 years). 

Can we say ouch?!

Like many young, single woman, I find myself hesitant to pursue my career dreams because doing so will involve significantly more than the average in student loans (let's face it, graduate work isn't cheap and financial aid is few and far between!).  It is a dilemma facing many today.

At this point, I am striving to not worry about this decision.  I'm striving to put Christ's words into action: "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own" (Matthew 6:34).  Still, I think this problem is prevalent enough that it warrants discussion.