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Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Grades, Joy and Gratitude

In August, I began a crazy adventure that I didn’t see myself taking. When I say crazy, I mean out-of-this-world, mind-boggling, absolute craziness that I would have laughed at if you told me a year ago. I started an adventure at Grand Canyon University (GCU), commuting from my house, a 40 minute drive, to attend classes 6 days a week. I have around 14 credit hours, including 2 labs… this nursing stuff is no joke. It has definitely been a rough couple of months, but I’m excited to share with you how God is teaching me to be content and to trust Him.
  • My grades do not define me (Colossians 1:22). I was so tempted to forget this truth when I got a D on a test in what seems like the most fundamental class of my nursing major. I cried…. A lot. But one of the sweetest reminders that God has comforted my heart with is that my grades don’t identify me from anybody else, and it doesn’t define who I am. Don’t get me wrong, always, always, always try to do better in school, but just remember that grades aren’t what matters most. Our identity in Christ is what matters most.
  • Comparison is truly the thief of joy (Hebrews 12:1-2). I used to get so bogged down because my classmates were getting higher scores than me on tests, they seemed smarter than me, or they seemed more put together. When I developed this kind of mindset, I didn’t view the people around me as someone that I could love because I saw them as a competition. Loneliness begin to creep in because you can’t get close to someone that you’re always trying to one-up in a non-existing game. When I truly believed that my grades didn’t define me and that people around me were in similar boats- just trying to manage their load, I began to relish in our differences. There really is joy in loving someone for who they are and what they are going through, regardless of where I am.
  • Gratefulness is vital (1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18). I’ve had some complications when I came to GCU and I complained about them to anyone who would listen. Conversations went something like this, “Hey Emily, How’s GCU going?”…. Let me tell you, were my thoughts, which then ended with a long list of things that weren’t going right. But can I tell you something? I am so incredibly grateful for my time at GCU because it has shaped my life and has humbled me in ways I wouldn’t have dreamt of. There’s something so faith building in not knowing if I could make it through another week of sleepless nights and endless amounts of homework, and yet God graciously leads and comforts me in the unknown.
I realize that my life is a lot like a scene of baseball; it’s as if an opposing team was trying to get me out of the game, blocking me from my end goal, and yet as I sprinted for the diamond piece on the dirt ground that will guarantee my stay- I slide in, barely touching base with my foot. I made it. Praise be to God because somehow, I made it.
 
If you’re life looks a lot like a close game of baseball, just remember that God gives strength in times of need. In fact, in 2 Corinthians 12:9 it says that His strength is made perfect in weakness. My prayer for you is that you’ll view hard circumstances as a time to walk even closer with Jesus on this journey called life. God bless,

Emily Calligan


 

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