Student Postings
Posted Dec. 21, 2009
Jean-Luke Williams
Dear Friends,
It is with a great deal of mixed emotions that I write to you today. On the one hand I am ecstatic to be done with finals and to be heading home for Christmas break, on the other, I am not sure I want to leave this campus. I don’t know what it is, but there truly is such a peace on this hill (I am sure the Lord has something to do with it). I am super excited to spend time with my family, however. Christmas is such a special time of the year and I am so blessed to be able to celebrate it with such amazing people.
This semester has flown by. It seemed like just yesterday we were moving in all the new students and now the semester is over. I can’t wait to get home and sleep in my own bed. Finals week has been exhausting and I am ready to catch up on some much needed sleep! I am really not looking forward to saying
goodbye to some of my friends. A few of them will be going to Austria in the spring which means I will not be able to see them until next fall semester. It is going to be really difficult saying goodbye.
I heard a sermon the other day which really gave me a new perspective on Christmas. The priest was comparing the wood of the cradle to the wood of the cross and how Jesus came on earth to die, so that we may live. It really got me thinking because his sole purpose for dying was to give us life; however, many of us do not truly live. In fact many of us simply live to die, instead of dying so that we may live. It really is ironic when you think about it.
After my last final I immediately curled up in my bed to make up for the sleep I lost last night. The only problem was I could not fall asleep for the life of me.
My mind was racing and I could not stop thinking about my semester. I thought about all I had learned and I thought I should share it with all of you. I created a sort of top five list, so here they are:
1) The Lord must be the center of your life. If you are not living your life for Him alone, than you are not truly living your life at all. He must be the very reason you wake every morning. He is the only one who truly matters.
2) Don’t ever judge a book by its cover. There are some amazing people in this world; take the time to get to know them, you won’t regret it.
3) No matter what you do, make sure you do it one hundred percent. Try to avoid being lukewarm, it is never rewarding.
4) Expect the unexpected. Life is a journey filled with twists and turns and ups and downs. Learn to embrace it; you will enjoy it all the more.
5) Never give up trying. The Lord never gives up on us and the worst thing we can do to Him is to stop trying. He wants us to struggle and He wants to help us with our struggles. Give Him everything; that is all He asks for.
In Christ,
Jean-Luke