For me, life as a student is kind of messy. Balancing studying, part-time work, church, fellowship, hobbies and home-life creates a busy and somewhat disorganised schedule. My weeks include late nights and early morning starts, and having a health condition that limits my physical and mental energy can add to the messiness of life. Having been a student for four years, with two years still to go, I really feel the pains of wanting to rush into what’s next, sometimes frustrated at God for the path he’s placed me on.
There’s also the reality of wanting to ‘grow up’: to have mastered my finances, scheduling, people-skills and (insert anything a ‘proper adult’ does well here). The messiness I experience is not only my circumstances but my inability to do life well on my own. In this, I am learning to lean on God, as he slowly grows me as I abide in him. I so often want to my sanctification to be complete, but I must trust that he is glorified more in my slow transformation than quick, surface-level changes. Jesus is taking joy in doing life with me, messy as it may be.
Day-to-day, my health and studies impact the way I spend time with the Lord. Whilst I would love to spend a solid “power-hour” in the morning, enthusiastically praying and reading my bible, my quiet time sometimes looks like this: rushing off to placement, reading bible verses sleepily on public transport, or laying on a couch – exhausted by my condition- struggling to even articulate how I feel before God.
What has helped me in a struggle to accept my circumstances is the invitation God gives me to invite Him into all parts of my life. The bible verse “pray without ceasing” has given us an invitation to talk and be with God throughout the day, rather than a single morning meeting. This can look like inviting Him to be with me whilst I rest, praying on my hospital placements, or listening to worship whilst brushing my teeth. Rather than eating one huge meal, I think my experience of God looks like small snacks: feeding on a few verses, prayer with a friend, or a worship song that reminds me of His character.
The reality is, for many of us in London, we are busy and often exhausted. We don’t all have health conditions, but we regularly feel our time and energy being stretched. Moreover, many of us feel the pains of not wanting to be in our current life stage or circumstances. But, in our hunger, I think the Lord is calling us throughout each day, to remember Him.
When I am studying flashcards for the 5th hour in the day, I try to remember that “whatever my hand finds to do, to do for the Lord”. When I rest on the couch, I try to remember that the Lord is my good Shepherd, and he wants to “give his beloved sleep”. When I am feeling physical pain, fatigue, or the frustration of being in a season I want to move on from, I remember that he invites me to “cast all [my] cares on the Lord, for he cares for [me]”.
As a church family, I pray we can encourage each other in our waiting and our hardships to keep remembering the Lord. As Christians, we can all feel messy, and we are all waiting – for Christ to return. Whilst we wait, let us encourage each other to remember Him, and keep seeking to experience Jesus in the small parts of our everyday.