Bummed for the bummed...

I recently read the class blog of some of my students' writing. Many of these students are seniors who posted details about not getting into the college they wanted or not getting the scholarship they had applied for. I'm really sad for them. I never dreamed that the competition was so tight that these students, STARS among students, the kind of bright shiny apple students who every teacher loves to teach, that THESE students would struggle to reach their goals in college. These are students with 4.0 gpa's who have been in multiple sports and multiple fine arts and who have served their communities. I would never have dreamed that these amazing young people would have trouble getting scholarships or acceptance to programs. I know God is good and that He has a plan laid out for them as promised in Jeremiah 29:11. I know that as Psalm 139 states that God had the days planned out for them before they were ever born. But, this doesn't seem like a very clear plan to me. My human eyes have a hard time seeing God's plans including struggle for those kids who've done the right things and worked so hard. I guess we were never promised an easy life where we always get what we want. My humanness gets in the way of understanding that. I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of the story for these students. If the answer to their first question was "no", then I can't wait to see what the "yes" is. It must really be something good.