I have so much I'd like to write about that's on my mind at the moment. "Molly's Zone" came into my life nearly a year ago (the blog will hit the one year mark on Thursday!), and ever since then the Lord has laid upon my heart the desire to be a mentor to young adults, especially those that are either already in college or others who have just begun the college journey. What an interesting ride college was for me! You experience so much during those years; I hated the ride at first, but I ended up loving that season of my life so much. I want to be an encouragement today. God has put on my heart to share some of my experience with you, and to give you a three point strategy that will help you to "survive in your faith" while being a college student.
1) Keep Your Faith Close: Faith is vital in the Christian life; I'm going on 25 years old and I'm still learning what having solid faith means. My life has not worked out the way I thought it would. At the start of my college experience, on the surface I thought I wanted to be a teacher; I loved school. I still love learning; I literally would have gone to college forever if I had been financially allowed. However, deep down inside I always felt as though the Lord was pulling me towards writing. I kept telling my mother that the Lord was wanting me to write about something, but I didn't know what it was. I would describe myself biblically as a Jonah through and through. I ran. I did what Molly wanted to do. I did not trust in the Lord as much as I should have. You must ALWAYS put your faith first; out in the world, the devil has potentially more access to you and will do his best to throw you onto spiritually dangerous detours in your path; DON'T LET HIM! Stay close to God, and ALWAYS listen to what He wants you to do.
"Commit thy way unto the Lord;trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass" (Psalms 37:5 KJV)
Choose Friends Wisely: The second strategic survival pointer that I felt compelled to mention is to choose your friends wisely. I have thought a lot today about how to phrase this as I write, and the truth of the matter is that you simply CAN'T be the best of friends with everyone you meet but there is always a lesson to learn from everyone you come into contact with. I thought that this may seem a little confusing, so to better explain things, what I mean is that you are going to be around a ton of new faces and you will have to be able to discern between who to allow into your inner cirle and who to love from a distance. You are going to run across people with different lifestyles and different beliefs that you may not agree with. Stand your ground. Love those people, but put God first in all of your choices. Don't let the devil make you think that earthly friends are a dire necessity. If you are saved, you have the ultimate, most important friend already and that is Jesus Christ; the friends that you make along the way should be considered blessings. I love and cherish ALL the people I've met; God has taught me so much through my experiences with each and every person. I learned how to be a better Christian and a better friend to the people who are in my life at this moment. He taught me to talk less and to listen more. Be open to listening to others' life stories and/or issues. Pray for them. Be friendly. Share the Word whenever possible. Choose your words wisely also and use them as a help to those around you. Remember, God is with you and everyone is watching; how you live your life is of utmost importance; it is your testimony of His presence in your life. How do you want other people to see what it means to really be a Christian?
"A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly; and their is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother" (Proverbs 18:24 KJV)
3) Do the Right Thing Always: Lastly, you must do the right thing even when it doesn't feel like the acceptable thing to do. Everyone will make mistakes. I still do. I know that by even sharing my story that I'm not going to prevent some of the wrong turns you will make. Do your best to live right. Learn from your experiences. Apply the lessons to your life and move forward for the Lord. I'm thankful for my salvation. I'm thankful for my blessings. I'm thankful for my mistakes. I think God has a purpose for absolutely everything, and while I regret some of the choices I made in the past, I don't think that I would be the person I am today without them. I am so excited and I am so happy right now. Today's post just brings a smile to my face. God is good all the time. I feel so blessed to have the life I have. I love all of my readers and the people who God has placed in my life. Can't wait to bring you more "Molly's Zone" fun next week!
"And we know that ALL things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose."
(Romans 8:28 KJV)
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