This past weekend, I was blessed with the opportunity to go on a retreat called Awakening. It was through the Catholic Community at TCU, and was led by other students who had attended previous Awakening retreats. It was by far one of the best, most joy-filled weekends I've had in college thus far. I was surrounded by the most loving and faith-filled people that I've ever met and have never felt more at home in college.
After some self reflection, it made me realize that one of my biggest challenges right now is staying rooted in my faith during college. It is easy to keep your faith strong when you are surrounded with a group of people like the group of people who were at Awakening. But this isn't reality. In normal, everyday life, you are faced with all kinds of people and temptations that can easily pull you away from your faith. I know that I have experienced this firsthand by coming to college.
In high school, I went to church and youth group every Sunday, and did every trip and retreat possible over the weekends and summers. Coming to college, it has been a struggle to get plugged in and find a good church community. I have realized that it is so easy to come up with excuses to not go to church or even open up my bible - "I have too much work to do," "I have two tests this week," and "I'm just exhausted" are all excuses that I've used to put off going to church or making an effort to get out and get involved. Needless to say, it is so easy to just put God on a shelf and get caught up in so many other distractions. Keeping rooted in your faith in college is not easy, and it is something you will have to work for. My eyes were opened this weekend, and I've realized that I can't just keep floating through life in order to keep pursuing the relationship with God I know that I need and want to have.
In order to stay rooted in college, I've realized that you have to accept the fact that you are going to have weak moments and fall into temptations. We have a loving and merciful God who loves you unconditionally and is waiting for you to turn back to Him. Being a Christian does not mean that you have to be perfect. God loves us in all of our flaws and imperfection. I have also realized that community is everything. It is so vital to surround yourself with people who make you a better person and bring you closer to God. Finding people who will love and support you, who you can also share your faith with, will be your backbone and keep you accountable.
