Going into my first year of college I knew it was going to be hard. I took it easy with high school especially because I was home schooled. But I had the right attitude going into college.
A year before I actually went to college I wasn’t planning on going at all. I was going to make up my own little schedule and do things myself. I was going to go around and interview people, asking them what kind of resources helped them as a wife and mother. Then I was going to get a couple resources at a time and start going through them. Perfect idea to me.
Then I went to College Days again for my 3rd year in a row. I enjoyed going every time because I just loved the atmosphere at Bob Jones University and the kindness of most everyone. As I was down there in that environment I realized that I couldn’t do my own thing at home. If I did my own thing at home, I wouldn’t have the spiritual support I would down there. It would be hard and challenging, and I would most likely give up. I prayed about it and told the Lord to direct me where He wanted me to be.
I took my ACTs and let my grades in the Lord’s hands. If I got accepted to BJU I would see it as direction to go there. Then I got accepted. It was great, I was happy and really felt like that was where the Lord was leading me. And it was!
I had a few ‘standards’ going into college. I knew that I did not want to get into debt over college. Because I just want to be a stay-at-home mom, I figured it would be foolish to get into debt if I don’t even plan on using my degree. I also knew that because of that, I probably would not be going all four years. I was okay with that though. I went into my freshman year just hoping to learn everything I could and grow as much spiritually as I could before the next season of my life would start.
I am at peace with all my decisions though others may think it’s foolish. My parents support me fully and that’s all that matters as far as people go.
Going into the semester I wanted to see myself change. I knew I wasn’t doing very well spiritually and I couldn’t wait to get into the environment down there where I didn’t feel pressured to turn from God
I am so thankful that the Lord lead me to go to college! Even if it is only for one year, I would have been fine with just one semester. Everything I learned down there was amazing. The Lord taught me so much through chapel, teachers, classes, friends.
The theme of the year was “Living in Light of the Gospel.” It was perfect. Just what I needed. Because that was the theme of the year, it was preached on often and included in spiritual encouragement thoughts from the teachers in class.
So because of that the biggest thing I learned this semester is to put Christ first in my life. As my uttermost desire and my top priority. Because unless God is my top priority and main relationship, my life is nothing. It was difficult to keep Him first as there are many assignments and projects for classes, but it was great when He would provide ‘extra time’ to get things done as you prayed. Though my devotions were hard to keep up with, my prayer life continued to grow over the semester. It was really neat to see the Lord working in my life. My current focus is to continue to keep my priorities straight and really focus on Christ. Though I fail many times, I know that God is there to help me back up and get back on track. It takes daily determination to keep God my top priority.
Another thing I have learned is that the Lord will provide. Many times you automatically think of Him providing money or ‘things’ you may need when you say He will provide, and He did provide the funds I needed to pay off my first semester without debt. But when I say provide, I mean everything else. The people I got to know this semester were the perfect people that I needed in my life at the time they were there. They were the ones I needed and they helped me to remember to focus on God. We were able to encourage one another in different areas and it was a real blessing that the Lord brought each one into my life. He also provided enough time for me to be able to get assignments done. There were times that I felt like I only had a little bit of time left to get something done, and I would look at my clock and see that I had a lot more time than I thought left! He gave me strength to get through projects and tests. He provided so much when I deserve nothing.
I learned that I need to trust Him solely for everything. One of the biggest challenges I faced down there were when people asked me what I wanted to do. When I would say homemaker they would think that was all cute and everything. But when they found out that I may not get my degree they started questioning me. They asked me questions such as, “Well, what if you get married and have children and then your husband dies? How will you take care of your family?” The thing is, I have an amazing God that loves me and He can provide in any situation. If perhaps I got married and had children and my husband would die, the Lord would provide exactly what I needed to get by. Whether it be a job, a family to live with, or my parents to help me, He would provide because He knows exactly what He is doing.
We were not put on this earth to gain for ourselves. We were put on this earth to serve and worship our amazing God and lead others to Him. That is our sole purpose here on this earth. Though we may need to have a job to be able to house ourselves and take care of ourselves, our primary purpose is to serve God.
It has become so real in my life that it doesn’t matter if I have a college degree, or even if I end up not getting married, or anything else. It just matters that I am serving God to further His kingdom and He will provide exactly what I need to do that.
There are so many stories I could tell about things that happened my first semester. I will share this one…
I had to take Biological Science and it’s not necessarily my favorite subject. It didn’t help that I had it Tuesdays / Thursdays at 8am. I had not missed or been late to any of my classes and I was very thankful that I hadn’t. I had a roommate with 8 o’clocks and she would make sure I was up by 15 till 8. Which was fine for me because I can get ready pretty quickly thanks to my job at Cascio’s. Well, one day I did not hear any of my alarms, and I also did not feel my roommate trying to wake me up. Then at about 15 after Heather Shaffer woke up and realized I was still in bed. So she woke me up with this… “Emily, you know you missed your science class?” I shot out of bed sitting straight up, and was not very happy. But then I paused and prayed that the Lord would give me strength to get through this. See, it wasn’t just another day of class, it was a test day. And for missing a test on the day of the test you automatically get 2 letter grades docked off after you make it up. Science is not my best subject as I said so I really needed a good grade on that test. After I had prayed I felt a peace that I had never really felt before. I wasn’t worried about the test, I knew God would provide and that He had a purpose for this. When I looked back and saw that my first response was to pray, I was overjoyed. It showed me that I was growing because just a couple weeks earlier that probably would not have been my first response. It’s amazing when things like that happen and God gives you the grace to get through them.
As I close my testimony I want to share that I am very thankful to those of you who have supported me and encouraged me. I hope that as I go into my second semester I can learn and grow even more!
Because of Christ,
Emily
Through Seasons of Life 