Let’s be honest, the amount of L’s I’ve experienced within the first six weeks of freshman year exceed all other L’s within the nineteen years of my life. A few of these “L’s” include:
1. Accidentally addressing my Professor whose name is Bobby in an email as “Professor Booby”
2. Receiving numerous parking tickets
3. Getting elbowed in the face
4. Losing my car in the parking lot for three days and finding it upon return to have had the window rolled down for those three days
5. Immediately crying in front of multiple people when I spilled my chicken nuggets
6. Spilling a large cup of sticky sprite on all four of my curling irons
7. Being introduced by another individual to a large group of people as “Macy” not “Gracie” (my actual name)
... And those are just a select few.
I came into freshman year both fearful and full of pride. The expectations I had of achieving each individual opportunity that has crossed my path within the last few weeks ultimately caused a heart problem within my perspective of what freshman year would hold. The list above is a concrete representation of how quickly sweet, sweet Jesus has humbled me within the last six weeks.
My Jesus has been beyond faithful in regards to how He has created beauty out of my failures and laughter through teeth-clenching frustrations. He has whispered words of encouragement, cradled me at 2:00 a.m. when I am bawling my eyes out wishing to be held and revealed Himself to me in the tiniest details that could only be orchestrated by the Creator Himself.
I guess what I am trying to desperately communicate to you, and to myself as well, is the overarching fact that Papa is there. Papa is here. Papa is now. And Papa is present.
Jesus was present when I walked into the wrong class, He was there when I felt emotionally distressed to the point of giving up, Papa was with me on the highway when I was struggling to keep my eyes open due to my sleep exhaustion, Papa was there when I felt like the biggest failure after I failed my biology exam, and Papa was ever most present when I almost set my dorm room on fire. He is here, He is now, and He is faithful, friends.
If you’ve never heard of this Jesus guy that I keep talking about, you must think I am the craziest person ever. Friends who do keep their faith and know that there is a higher power that loves and adores you. He is watching you and chasing after your heart. He hears you cry, He knows you miss your dogs, He knows you live and breathe off of Easy Mac & Cheese, and He is crazy about you.
With that being said, freshman year is hard, no doubt, but it is beautiful as well. Crying is beautiful, struggling is beautiful, and failure is beautiful. Cling on to the most precious revelation that Jesus is walking with you, hand in hand, during the all-nighters, unfortunate news, and the embarrassing “L’s” of college.
