"New Semester, New Challenge"

Back to school already?? I know I had a little bit longer of a break than high schoolers and middle schoolers but jeez I feel like the winter break just flew by! There I was enjoying my mini vacation in Alabama with my family and now here I am back in the office… not that I don’t love my job, just in awe at how fast time truly passes by. Also, I am already in my second semester of college?! What?! If I could ask for anything from a magic genie, it would definitely be more hours in the day so we could actually enjoy and take in each day. Anyway, I started my second semester back yesterday and I’ll be honest, those first day of school jitters took a toll on me yesterday. It possibly could have something to do with the fact that I do not want to go to school anymore and getting myself there was really hard, but I know I am there for a reason. So I walk into Geography and luckily I have a couple of friends in there which made it a little bit better, but it seemed like the one hour and twenty minutes was never going to end.

Next I had Sociology and I was not prepared for what I was getting myself into. It was a full class with an elderly teacher that was surprisingly very energetic. As we got into talking about things that make up everyday life we came across the topic: religion. This obviously sparked my attention immediately, but for some it turned them off instantly. It excited me realizing that we can talk about religion freely in college but only until we talk about it negatively, which is unfortunately what happened in this class period. My professor asked the class to raise their hands if they called themselves a Christian and only like half of the class raised their hands. Then she asked, “of those people that just raised their hands, which of you says the F word?” Half of the half raised their hands! Ughhh this really saddened me. Now I know some people and some Christians think that cuss words are just words and I am not looking down on those people at all, but the bible does say in Colossians 3:8: “But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.”  Then our professor asked about people having faith and hardly anyone in the class even knew what that really meant. This blew my mind! It took all of me to not get up in the middle of class and leave, but then I thought of the commonly asked question… What would Jesus do? He would not want His warriors to get up and walk away from an uncomfortable situation because He did not call us to be comfortable. He called us to be like Him and spread His love in any and all hardships. So I quickly pulled myself together and realized God has given me a challenge. Maybe I was not put in that class to become a Sociology major (ha) but to change somebody’s life in that class for eternity.

Since the day I started college I have felt kind of iffy about it. I wonder if I am even supposed to be in school or if I am supposed to be across the world doing missions. As I pray about it and think on it I have realized that not everyone can flee the country and be missionaries, but that God needs missionaries in our local towns too. Even though going to college isn't my ideal path at the moment, I know God has me there for a reason. So if you are in a sticky situation wondering why you are in it I hope this blog can help you. Understand that even though you aren't too fond of what you are doing, there is a greater good waiting to come out of it. Feel free to respond with any questions or comments. Until next time...