God is rarely an afterthought in my life. He is usually at the forefront of my mind. God is not just theological for me, He is an experience. My interaction with God involves all of my senses. When the wind touches me, I am reminded of God's presence. The sensation of biting into fresh, sweet fruit, that is God. The smell of a vanilla, that's God. The whistles notes achieved by Mariah Carey -- that's God.
My interactions with God is not limited to the walls of a church nor is it a weekly experience. God is all around me, but I am not speaking in terms of New Age Philosophy. Roman 1:20 confirms my experience: "For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities -- his eternal power and divine nature -- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse" and further more Psalm 19:1 inform us that “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.”
With all of these earthy reminders, I had no excuse to forget God, but I did. I had shared myself out too thinly amongst university organizations, jobs, classes and not to mention, homework and studying; therefore, unfortunately, God had drizzled down to the bottom of my to-do list.
There is so much God at my university -- He is spoken of all the time. There is chapel which is held for 1 hour every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. In addition, many students usually attend church on Sunday. Furthermore, depending on the major a person could have several theological classes and every class, regardless of field, integrates Christ into the curriculum. With all of this integration of Christ into my life - how did I forget Him? I will tell you.
How it all began:
It began early in the year. I stopped attending Chapel as frequently last semester until my attendance dwindled down to not all. Chapel was an entire hour! As a film major, who sometimes made it back to my dorm-room 3 a.m. and latest class started at 9 a.m. -- I would use that hour to sleep or attempt to complete an assignment.
Secondly, I also rarely attended church. It was quite difficult to find a ride to chruch, most of my friends didn't have cars or cars were already filled to the max. Later in the semester, when space did become available I was already burnt out -- If I wasn't working, doing homework or studying on Sunday then I just wanted to sleep-in.
Moreover, I would say that biggest error was allowing prayers to become optional. Praying during the morning was practically non-existant for me. I would get up at maximum 30 minutes before a class. Twenty of those minutes were spent dressing and the other 10 minutes were used to rush across campus to get to my class. If I was lucky I could manage to squeeze in prayer while speed-walking to my class. My nightly prayers happened when my eyes were already closed -- not out of reverance, but because I was half asleep already! I doubt many of them ended in amen.
What I've learned from this:
Now that I am reflecting, I am sad to see that my relationship with God had become this tumultuous. As Romans 1:20 states, I am without excuse. My only purpose in life according to Ecclesiates 12:13 is to: "Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." This is where my biggest error lies. I became distracted by the ways of the world. Unfortunately, school had become more important than God. I hate to admit this, but it is the truth. However, we learn from our mistakes and I hope to never make the above-mentioned mistakes again. I hope that you also learn from my mistakes as well.
