It’s that time of year again when summer is over and the the “First Day of School” pics start popping up on your social media feeds.
However, it’s not just the children that are going back to school: young adults, and even older adults, are headed back to college; whether it be their first time as a college student or a returning student. I’m a returning college student. I graduated in May of 2014 with my Associate of Arts in General Education, but I’m returning to get a second degree in Business Management.
So how do we balance life, school, and our spiritual life? It’s tough, but its doable. I have to try to do my online classes when my son Finley is napping or has gone to bed at night. The struggle is real folks! Meeting those deadlines and working to try to get in as much work as possible each day so that I’m not stressed and scrambling around the day that the assignment is due.
The other hours of my day are consumed with motherly and wifely duties, running errands, and church. Whether it’s choir practice, church cleaning, or church service, my family and I seem to find ourselves at the church quite often. Then there’s maintaining my daily spiritual walk with God. Making sure that in all of my craziness, that I set time aside to read my Bible and pray. It’s as important as meeting those deadlines for my classes.
With that being said, yes — life will get crazy and busy, but we have to stick to our fundamentals as modern-day, Christian women. I am a stay at home mom, doing life and college, while there are other women working full-time jobs (or two), and also balancing life and college. But we have to keep on track when it comes to our spiritual life. We can’t get so caught up in our life that we forget the most important part of living, which is to live for God. When we keep Jesus first, He will put US first. He will be there for us in our time of frustrations and stress — especially those times in college when we feel like we’re going to lose our minds. We just have to make sure that in the midst of everything around us, that we keep HIM first.
As for those going to college on campus: STAND OUT. Stay true to yourself and don’t be influenced negatively by those around you. You can still be a light and a witness, and have a fun experience at college. It all comes back around to keeping HIM first in your life. Doing so will make life — and college — a little smoother.
I hope this little “heart to heart” encourages you and gives you just a little reminder of the most important things in life.
Are you going back to school? What seem to be the biggest challenges that you face? We want to hear from you — let us know what’s happening in your life by commenting below!