Anyway, I am all settled in my "home away from home", and have spent the weekend relaxing and filling up my soul before the craziness of school starts. Outside of watching Hallmark movies and way too many episodes of Sister, Sister, I have been listening to podcasts and spending time in the Word. I didn't intend to write a blog post for back-to-school encouragement, but the Lord has reminded me of a few things that I thought should be shared with y'all.
1. Nothing you do today or tomorrow, or any day after, can fracture God's love for you. Once you accept Christ, His love for you is unchanging. Nothing you do can add to it or take away from it. I'm not saying you should fail a class "because God will still love you," BUT if you feel like you've messed up or fallen away from your faith, God will always be waiting for you with open arms.
2. Your identity is not rooted in your insecurity. Our insecurities and weakness tend to dominate our decisions and actions by limiting what we think is possible, or what we are capable of. However, we should not live our lives being defined by our shortcomings, but rather by our true identity: individuals created by God for a purpose. Your talents, intelligence, and personality are uniquely you, and are of far more importance than any of your insecurities. Find your identity in those things when your insecurities try to take over.
3. You're not alone. Even if you are alone physically, lacking community or friendship, God promises to be with us at all times (Isaiah 41:10). Furthermore, you probably really aren't even as alone as you may feel in your classes or dorm, either. I speak from my own experiences when I say that putting yourself out there and making yourself step out of your comfort zone is so worth it when it comes to finding community in college! Though I still struggle with this, getting involved is always rewarding and never a regret.
4. Life is not that serious. This kind of goes along with the last one. I have missed out on so many opportunities for fear of what others might think. And the few times I have chosen fun over fear, I've realized that no one is really judging me anyway. I tend to take everything way, way, wayyyy too seriously. But that's no fun at all, people! Fun is dancing with your friends even though you don't know how, singing at the top of your lungs even if you're the worst singer, and making the most out of less than ideal situations. If you happen to see me on campus, please remind me that LIFE IS NOT THAT SERIOUS (thanks in advance, friends). Life should be fun!
5. Live a "Best Yes" life. Okay, so if you haven't read The Best Yes by Lysa TerKeurst...read it ASAP. I read through it this summer and it is a reminder that not every opportunity is meant for me. I tend to fill up my schedule by saying yes to everyone and everything, but that leaves no room for "Best Yes" opportunities. These are the opportunities that God puts in our path and wants us to devote our whole selves to. If we say yes, yes, yes to all these other things, we can't give our best self to the things that truly matter.
These are all things that I hope to live out in the next few months before I... GRADUATE! I hope they are as big of an encouragement to you as they are to me!