Let's just pretend it hasn't been two months: Faith and Fruit and Stuff

I was asked to be a "featured writer" for June's issue of my church's newsletter. Here's what I came up with.


I think most college students can give testament to the fact that it isn’t always easy to remember the things that are most important, like basic hygiene, eating fruit (because pizza will always be more readily available than grapes), calling home, and especially God.

There are several contributing factors to explain this. Firstly, being plunged head first into an atmosphere of utter freedom can be mildly disorienting. There is no one telling you to do your homework, but also no one to hug you when you get your first bad grade. No curfew, no one to buy you pop-tarts when you run out, and no one asking you to sing praise songs in church.

You are surrounded by a multitude of new, interesting and exciting people. But some of them will be lazy, smelly, have weird hair and awkward birthmarks, and refuse to eat animal by-products and still may or may not be handling their own freedom more gracefully than you.

Perhaps the most dismal of the reasons: relying entirely on oneself can foster an attitude of inflated self-importance. Please note that this can be an unconscious survival mechanism, or a motivator, like “I will ace my classes because I am so ridiculously awesome.” Or, “I cannot go home this weekend because I have so much to do and I value my own happiness above others.” Living in your own head all the time, all of a sudden making choices that seemingly only affect you, with total control over your time; time that is completely yours to waste or otherwise, can amount to a very selfish four years (or five).

Secondly, not only does the “important stuff” get swished back into a dust-bunny scattered corner of your brain to make room for deciding what to do with all the time on your hands, there are also all the external influences. You know what I’m talking about, the kind that most parents of college kids lay awake at night worrying about. But for most, Thursday does not automatically mean “thirsty Thursday,” and more often than not, one’s roommate does not smoke pot or know a guy named Hank who can get you some.

Except…it is college and let’s be honest, those characters are running rampant. If one was to seek them out, one would no doubt encounter the stuff that makes up scary, worst-case scenario parental thoughts.

But the point is, amidst this atmosphere of all-inclusive freedom, the “it’s all about me!” mentality, and the sad truth that bad choices are waiting to jump out at you from behind the bushes, it is hard to remember to “take it to the Lord in prayer” like the lyrics of my favorite hymn, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” suggests.

It would not be an overstatement to claim that 80% of the prayers I made during my third year of college happened while I was on my way to take a test. Although God may not have a presence in my every day thoughts like I wish he would, he is always there in the dark times. Like when I’m convinced that I’m all alone and worthless. Or inconvenient times, like when I tell my grandma about 21st birthday plans to check out a bar, and she asks if I’ve thought about what the Lord would think, or when I’m about to flirt with a boy who I know is bad news. Or even when I’m complaining about something I don’t have and I hear a voice in my head saying to be grateful for the many things I do have that I did nothing to deserve.

In today’s material world, the physical reminders often have more of an effect, even just receiving the newsletter in my college apartment helped serve as a reminder for the things that once forgotten, make falling prey to temptation that much more likely. I actively attempt to be around people who build up my faith and I’ve started placing my bible on my night stand instead of on the top shelf of my closet where my mind makes it way too easy to forget the access I have to words of wisdom, hope, and love. Also, I bought some grapes the other day.