You wouldn’t think that college life would inspire a student to dive deeper into her faith. Instead of partying all weekend like the stereotypical college girl, I preferred my nights out to be Tuesdays with my bible study girls. Before I go to bed, I try to read a passage of the Bible and reflect in my journal. Each day, I pray to God about all of my struggles and praises. Every Sunday that I can, I attend church in the mornings with my roommates and teammates. My most listened to playlist on Pandora is worship music. You see, you have somewhere around four years to make the most of your college experience. You can socialize and prioritize all you want, but I think making time to focus on your faith during this time in your life will let you grow more than you even know.
Before college, I felt like I was just going through the motions. I was a “part-time Christian,” as some would call it. Being a Christian is more than completing step A to get to step B and C and so on. There’s no formula to get to Heaven either. But faith is all about living your everyday life like Christ and walking with Him each day. It took time in a new environment surrounded by new people for me to find my way to Him again.
How have I grown closer to Him exactly? Time. It took time to realize that I really wanted to invest my life and make time for my faith. Giving back time to God when He’s the one who gave you time in the first place is the ultimate worship, in my opinion. Spending time with Him and reflecting on His plan for my life has given me hope even on the most stressful school days.
It’s taken me four years to look back and realize that turning to worldly values and materialistic things to seek guidance and acceptance is not the way to go. The stresses that the world puts on you are for Him to handle. When I give my stresses and struggles to Him, he takes care of it. He hasn’t failed me yet, and He won’t fail you.
Another way that I’ve grown closer to God in college is through community. Reaching out to a bible study through a campus ministry was one of the best decisions I’ve made in college by far. Surrounding myself with girls who have the same passion and faith as I do has been so uplifting. Having a group of people that I know I can count on each week to encourage me and to pray for me (and with me) is especially rewarding.
On top of focusing my personal time on God and seeking out community, my time in college has helped me to grow closer to Him through trust. Trust that he would look after my family back home. Trust that he would guide me in my relationship. Trust that long distance would be worth it. Trust that I was making the right decisions and headed down the right career path. There’s nothing more important in a relationship with the Lord than trust, especially during a period of four years of uncertainty about the future.
I’ve grown so much as a person just by growing with God alongside me. If I were to give my fellow Christians and community members any advice, it would be to keep the faith. Keep going when times get hard, keep going when you feel lost and keep going when you feel like you are drifting apart from Him. Make time for Him, and your faith will grow with you.
