This week during spring break I got to sit back and do nothing but catch up on work and I have to admit that it has been great. I think you could ask just about any college kid what life is like and they would agree with me that it can be summed up into one word… HECTIC! Running back and forth from job to job to class and finally home can be extremely tiring some days and it can also be incredibly lonely. Reflecting back on this semester I have noticed that I spend a lot of my time wishing that I was doing something of consequence with someone who knows me. Sometimes I find myself asking what the point is to all of this craziness and loneliness?!
College is supposed to be a journey full of life, adventure, and lessons learned but most of all, I think college is supposed to be a really great time to meet and invest in other people. People that I should want to spend my life with. But who has the time for that right? I mean working 40+ hours a week and having a full time class load on top of that makes for one very busy person. Sometimes I feel like I am working and working and there is a huge hole in my life where other people should be!
Jesus lived His life invested in others and if I am not living my life invested in others than am I really living how Jesus lived? The answer is no. Living as a hermit is not how Jesus calls us to live. Hiding away at home or at a Starbucks with headphones is not how Jesus wants His people to live. Selfishly I want others to see that I miss having people in my life. I want my friends to be able to look at my life and realize that I am struggling to keep my crazy reigned in. But how insanely selfish is that??? Humility is thinking of others more than we think of ourselves and I have come to find that I don’t think about how other people around me in college must be feeling if I am struggling with this!
So here is my prayer… I want to become someone that sees other peoples pain and prays for them. I want to become someone that sees other peoples joy and delights with them. I want to become someone that sees other peoples passion and inspires them. I want to become someone that sees other peoples burdens and offers my shoulder to cry on. The church is for encouraging one another and spurring each other on in love. There is no room for pride, selfishness and unkindness. Sometimes we must put our own needs and desires aside to meet the needs of the people we love.
Instead of living to reach my destination, I think its about time to start enjoying the journey with the people I love. After all, if I can’t enjoy all the craziness now then how am I going to learn to enjoy my time while on the race when things get a little crazy?!
