Breathe

Today. Pause. Breathe.
It may seem like we are all on a steep slide slipping down to the end of the year. Am I right? If I think about it too deeply that is exactly how I feel.  Is that what God is calling me to feel right now? Is that how I should be looking at these last days of my Sophomore year? Should I be looking at these classes and these learning opportunities as a means to an end, or another thing to cross off my list? I kinda don't think so...

Last night as a staff my RD talked about seeing the bigger story in the midst of the crazyness in the last few weeks. These finals, and papers, and tests are so small in the grand scheme of things.

Don't let it take your focus of Him or the reason that He brought you here. Maybe you could let it have a sentence in the whole story. But not much more.

This semester I have written more research papers than ever before. I have become a pro at finding credible sources and writing lit reviews etc. I could totally flip out and whine and tell all my friends about how much work they require or I can look at the bigger story and how they fit into that. I've been thinking a lot about what I have learned in the process of writing these papers. I am a much more confident research paper writer. I researched some really interesting things that I am continuing to interact with everyday...like social media usage in advertising, and humor used in small group settings, and my personal leadership. I learned a lot and for that I am thankful. I think those papers will play into my life in a unique way in the years to come.

How have the things you are learning/have learned this semester play into the bigger story? 
How are you going to let these few weeks be written in the story that is your life? 

I want to leave you with a prayer that my RD gave us by Ted Loder:

I Need to Breathe Deeply

Eternal Friend,
Grant me an ease
To breathe deeply of this moment
This light,
This miracle of now.
Beneath the din and fury of great movements and harsh news
And urgent cries, make me attentive still
To good news,
To small occasions,
And the grace of what is possible
For me to be,
To do,
To give,
To recieve,
That I may miss neither my neighbor's gift,
Nor my enemy's need..