It's the week you've been counting down for since senior year ended. It's finally here and all the hairspray and inspirational quotes you could find don't even seem to be helping at this point. Nerves have never been so high, tears flow like the Mississippi River, and seconding guessing has become a very bad habit.
It's hard. We all know that. And sometimes it really sucks. But the Big Man upstairs has a different idea. In the times when you feel like the world is falling apart, those are the times that He is creating something so much bigger than any of us.
And When it seems like nothing can help, your mascara is running down your face, your hair has more dry shampoo and hairspray in it than actual hair, and your body is screaming for sleep and coffee and food that isn't junk, you need to turn to the man who has never given up on you, even when you have almost given up on yourself. Here are some prayers for Rush Week.
Greek letters do not define you, God does.
It's so hard to push past reputations and look at a Greek house as something more than what you hear around campus. But Recruitment is the time to ignore the bias, and ignore the people whispering in your ear, and to open your heart to the girls in the house who have worked tirelessly to show your their homes.
Some days are hard, and some houses are going to blow your expectations out of the water, but God is going to guide you to the house that you belong in. The house that needs you as much as you need them.
Pslam 23: "The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."
When your head gets too loud to hear, and your heart is confused more than you can comprehend, God is with you. He is your shepherd to guide you blindlessly when you can no longer guide yourself.
When you get cut from a house, you do not get cut from the friendships in that house.
The Greek system is crazy. I'm really not sure the people who created it even understand it. But every move happens for a reason, and most of the time, neither sides of rush understand that reason. Friendships are more than the letters on your shirt and the place you eat lunch.
Friendships are about happiness and strength in struggle. They are about making things work no matter what it takes. My best friend in the entire world belong to the house next to mine, and I couldn't imagine it any other way.
Psalm 61: “Hear my cry, O God; from the ends of the earth I cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you are a shelter for me"
God has a plan that no one can comprehend, even if we tried. He places people into our lives for reasons, and He places obstacles for the same reason. When Recruitment gets to be too much, and you need a place to bury your heavy head and heart, lay down, say a prayer to God and give it all to Him. That's really all anyone can do.
Recruitment is scary, and exciting, and one of the best and worst weeks of your life. But the end result is worth the tasks it holds. Don't ever give up on yourself, your body, and your God.