When I moved to college, my first thought wasn’t what church will I attend. Honestly, my first few years of college I lost touch with God. I still said my prayers and I still read my bible, but the more stressed I became the less I seemed to do that. I was never a person to speak out loud about my faith. I just assumed everyone knew I was a Christian, but I don’t know why because some of my actions were not something a child of our heavenly Father would do. It was Easter Sunday of my sophomore year of college, I wasn’t able to go home and spend the holiday with my family, but I knew I wanted to go to church that morning. I remember sitting off to the side, by myself, and listening to the message. I realized then that I missed being a part of a church family. As finals came around and the busier I got, once again, I stopped turning to God when I know He is exactly what I needed.
I am in my final year of undergrad. I became aware of my actions. I realized that I was doing the same thing every weekend. Just going through the motions. I was a college student who did not want to wake up at 8 am on a weekend. My friend mentioned that she wanted to try out a new church in town. I told her I would go and I invited my roommate. When I pulled into the parking lot it was intimidating. It was the biggest church I had ever attended. There were police officers directing traffic and the parking lots were full. When I got out of my car, I was not as nervous. I already felt different. We immediately walked in and the very first thing we saw was someone getting baptized. What a beautiful start to a beautiful service. We started with a song of worship and it was a powerful song. I had tears in my eyes and it hadn’t even been ten minutes. Later, as the sermon started, I realized how much I needed this. I was supposed to hear this service. The preacher said that too many of us just “nod” at God. We have to learn we can't nod, we must follow Him. When I walked out of church, I felt reborn. I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.
As the day went on my friends and I didn’t say much. The night went on and I was texting my friend and she mention how much that service got to her. Kirstyn, my roommate, mentioned the same thing. It made me realize that these are two people I can talk about with my faith. In college we get so lost in the peer pressure, the parties, and the exams that we forget sometimes we just need someone we talk to. I forgot how much I needed to turn to God. It has only been a week since I went to New Vision, but this week has been different. I am closer to not only my two best friends, but to our Heavenly Father. When you feel like you are losing your patience and you just need to talk to someone, remember God is always listening.
