"This semester's just been really hard for me"

If I had a dollar for every time I have said this myself or heard one of my friends say this to me, I could buy SO much coffee…

I feel like it's been a common theme among myself and so many people I'm close to that this semester's just been a little rougher than usual. And if that's you too this semester, just know you're not alone.

So, to the student who's struggled to get through this semester, this is for you.

You might be struggling to keep a passing grade, feeling frustrated at your lack of motivation, or just really, really ready for the semester to be over. If you're feeling anything like I am right now about this semester, you're overwhelmed and stressed and anxious and feeling so powerless and like you have nowhere to turn and no way to make your current school situation any better.

But God wants more for you than to be bogged down by stress.

A life without stress sounds impossible, doesn't it? I know that stress and anxiety are so prevalent and so hard to work through, and so instead of offering my own words, I simply turn to scripture. Read these words from the Lord. There is peace and hope to be found in Christ.

"The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands." Psalm 138:8a

"I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me." Psalm 131:1-2

"He heals up the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure." Psalm 148:2-4

"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In this world you have tribulation, but take heart; I have overcome the world." John 16:33

Stop fighting for and trying to control the time that was never yours to begin with.

James 4 says this:

"Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit' - yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and do that or that.' As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil."

I love how James always gets straight to the point. He says, "What is your life?" We walk around planning and color-coding our planners and acting like we have the power and are in control. But James tells us our lives are nothing more than a mist compared to the eternity and vastness of God.

I spend way too much time every day stressing about things I have absolutely no control over. How crazy is that, when you really think about it? Your time and your schedule and your plan for your life ultimately have no actual control. Think how much less we would be overwhelmed and stressed if we finally realized that as Christians, we have the opportunity to live for something so much greater than our schedules?

So how do we do this practically? It's one thing to admit that God is in control, but it's another thing entirely to actually give Him control.

1 Peter 5:6-7 again reminds us to take the pressure and control off of ourselves.

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time, He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you."

I put verse 6 in there too because I don't want you to just skip to the last part and think, "I can just give my cares to God and He will exalt me" because there's so much more to it than that. It says to humble yourself under God's hand so **at the proper time** He will exalt you.

This has been something I have been focusing on lately, and have been finding so much freedom and peace in! I have a sticky note on my planner that reads,

"You live for and serve someone so much greater than a planner and a to-do list."

I make my prayer every morning, "Today, I will do what you have for me Lord" and often, that is not exactly what I have written in my planner. Now I'm not saying to use this as an excuse to procrastinate and not get things done, but it has been cool to see a) how God uses my time so much better than I ever could, and b) that if I focus more on following God than following my planner, I've often been surprised to see how I accomplish everything I needed to, often in less time or in a different way than I would have seen it.

Sometimes God's plan means pushing back the time you had planned to do a task to talk to a friend who needs it (again, I am not endorsing putting off responsibilities regularly, use discernment here people!!).

All you have to do is show up. Lay your planner at the Lord's feet, and give back the time that was never yours to begin with, and watch God do more with His resources than you ever could with yours.

There is a purpose and there is a reason behind this busy season.

I had a breakdown week one of school as I put my planner together for the semester and I realized how much I had overcommitted myself. I felt guilty and angry at myself for giving myself so many commitments in the midst of an already difficult class schedule. But even though it was I who signed up and said yes to way more than I could handle, I still have no control compared to the Lord who is holding all things together.

Take a deep breath, and enjoy the right now before fast forwarding into next year.

It's November, and it's so tempting to want to go into autopilot for the rest of this year. It's easy to look at it all and say, "maybe next time…"

But friends! There is still so much joy, yes joy, to be found!

I was walking around campus a few weeks ago and noticed I had gone almost the entire semester without looking around and thinking, wow, I can't believe I get to go to school here (a thought I had probably everyday freshman year). I don't remember the last time I truly sat down with my closest friends and thought, I'm so glad I have this sweet friendship!

Take a minute from your busy life and be thankful for what you have, and I'm not just saying that because it's almost Thanksgiving. Take time to thank the Lord for all He has given you.

More than that, make the most of what's left of this semester. Do things that make you smile. Just because you are so close to the end doesn't mean you can't still enjoy it. Make Psalm 51:12, "Restore to me the joy of your salvation" your prayer today.

To the struggling student, to myself, to so many of my dear friends, to wherever you're at and whatever you're stressed about right, don't give up yet. Strive to seek joy and peace every day. You are so close to the finish. Finish strong.