College Thinking

                   I'll be honest, Final Exam week hits you hard. There is so much pressure to do good on your exams, so you stay up all night and cram as much information into your brain that you can. That's what the past week has been like for me. And of course I have to make a few tacos at Taco Bell along the way. In the rush of Finals and of course Christmas, it is easy to lose track of the big picture, and just focus on the present.
                   
                   The present looks pretty rough. I am almost done with my first semester of college and I have at least 7 more to go. Feels like eternity. Yes, college is definitely quite a bit of fun, but it is pretty stressful to. The past 4 months have been pretty rough for me, being at school and the mornings and early afternoons, and then going to work for the night. I work almost 40 hours a week and I am doing 16 credits. It is a lot. While I do get burnt out sometimes, I would not trade the past 4 months for anything. I learned so much about  life in these 4 months.

High school taught me what I believe, while college

has taught me why I believe

             The courses that I took this past semester I have challenged to back up what I believe. I learned that it simply is not good enough to know what I believe, I have to know why I believe it. Why do I believe in God? Why do I believe God actually sent His son to die for my sins? Can you really believe God created in the world in 6 days? These are all things that I had to research for myself this past semester. I had to own my faith. Now obviously you can not prove everything, but to always have an answer for the fundamentals of what you believe is very important. After all, who is going to take you seriously if you do not even know why you believe. Especially as Christians, we have the answer to so much hurt around us. I see it all the time. The world is a dark place, and without Jesus there is no hope. There is no peace. There is no forgiveness. But if we have Jesus it is our duty to share Him with others. 

 

              This semester has been amazing for me not just because I am learning new ideas and concepts, but because I have been able to plug into a very powerful group, Cru. I was able to go to Fall Retreat, and I am going to be going to TCX (Twin Cities eXperience) in Minneapolis in a few weeks. I have been able to form meaningful relationships with both people on my campus, and people from other campus's. It is so powerful and meaningful to have friends who share the same faith that you do. I definitely do not take that for granted.

 

            My college journey is just beginning, and I can already tell that the next four years are going to be incredible. It is always great to be able to look back and see where God has taken you from, and get a glimpse to where God is taking you. I have no idea what my life will really be about. But I do know that I want to spend my life at the center of God's will, and there is no greater place than that.

 

Now, back to the books!

 

God Bless,

David