Since I have been here at college, the transition has been beautiful and terrifying at the same time. At first, my desire for new experiences, friendships, challenges, and opportunities was all I was looking forward to. Don’t get me wrong, I am still eager to see what the future holds for me, however, I forgot that with “new” everything comes new struggles, valleys, and failures.
I am about three weeks into college and it already feels like I have been here for MONTHS. The days seem to go by slow, but the weeks disappear almost instantly. Within the midst of the chaos—from quizzes, to speeches, exams, remembering to eat, and keeping up with a social life—I got the chance to get coffee with my dad and take a step back and breathe.
Even though Common Grounds is basically still on campus, it was nice to escape for an hour. Besides catching up, Dad shared a story with me that I feel I need to pass on. He began by telling me how he read a devotional earlier that week and how he felt God put it on his heart to extend the message to me. I knew the story of Moses inside and out (as a little kid my answer to “what was Sunday school about” was either Moses or Jesus, so I guess you can say I learned about him a lot), but what my Dad told me was from a perspective I had never considered before.
Rewind really quick. During that time of catching up, I told my dad how I was scared of failing a class, not being able to find a good balance of everything on my plate, and not being successful at what I do. As normal, he saw this as an opportunity to teach a lesson. Except, instead of him giving me the lesson, it was God giving me the lesson through my dad. Pretty sweet right? Okay, fast forward again. Dad began to describe the part in Exodus when the Hebrews were at the Red Sea, Pharaoh’s army was on their tail, and Moses had not split the waters yet. If you aren’t familiar with this story, I highly encourage you to go check out Exodus chapters 12-14. At the point where the Israelites were calling Moses out, saying that he had brought them out of Egypt to die anyway, Moses replied, “Do not be afraid…The Lord will fight for you; you need only be still.”-Exodus 14:13-14
What’s crazy is how applicable this is to my life right now. Dad told me that there is a difference between being scared and fearing something. It’s okay to be scared of a test, a quiz, or the unknown, but DO NOT FEAR. In fact, it is fear that paralyzes us from continuing to push forward, having courage, or following the Lord's plans for us. So, while it’s okay to be scared about situations, there should be no reason for me to fear. God has taken care of me my entire life, so why should I let something so minute keep me from running to my Heavenly Father’s arms and finding rest there? After all, “fear not” is mentioned 365 times throughout the Bible. What better way to remember to not be afraid than to have a daily reminder given to us by God himself?
