Thoughts As The Bell Tower Rings

The sidewalks were crowded, the restaurants bustling with students and families, and dorm rooms being decorated. Life was being breathed into Chapel Hill this weekend as students poured back into town for school to begin once again.

And in that I realized: I am no longer a student at the university. I no longer have syllabi to read, books to order, or schedules to piece together.

But I did absolutely love my four years at UNC. And I am beyond excited for all of the students beginning another year there.

For you all beginning another year of school, whether it be your first or your last, here are a few little things that got me through college and a few that I wish I had known myself as I went through college:

Don't waste your college. And by that I mean don't waste your years from eighteen to twenty-two (or whatever age) doing things that don't matter and have no significance. Use your years in college to live outside of yourself, even though the world says differently. Use your college to love others, serve in your free time, adventure, and to live radically different as the Lord has called you.

Speaks words full of Truth and grace to your roommates and housemates. Living situations in college can be some of the most life giving or some of the most stressful things while in school... make them life giving by using words that build one another up. Extend grace more than you do anything else towards one another and never stop encouraging one another in the gospel.

You are not your GPA. You have never been identified by a number and you never will be identified by a number. You are a child of God. Do not let striving for a certain GPA control you.

It's okay to say "no." You do not have to over commit yourself and agree to take five leadership positions, volunteer in every organization, and be at every event. You just do not have to. Choose to say "yes" to the things that you love and things that you can be fully committed to.

When given the opportunity to dress up in some sort of themed attire, go all out. You won't regret it and you will be thankful for all of the pictures that you have afterwards.

Never turn down the opportunity to get coffee with someone. Even if you don't drink coffee. Time spent in conversation and sharing life with someone over coffee (or tea or soda or whatever you would like to drink) is invaluable and worth every penny and second spent. Take that time to share with others, be vulnerable, and to listen.

Use your time effectively and efficiently. It will help you get more done and allow for more fun. When you study, actually study, so that you can go play faster. When you are spending time with people, be all there and make it quality time so that you are not rushing from one thing to the next.

When finals time comes around, remember, it is not as serious as you think it is. I do not remember the grade that I made on one single final. There is not a large amount of eternal significance in the grades that you make on the final exams you take, so do not take them too seriously. Do try hard and do really study, but never let finals steal your soul or your kindness.

Stay up late, even if it's a little irresponsible sometimes. Some of my favorite memories from college are when I thought I was going to go to sleep, but then spontaneously decided to go to Waffle House with my roommates, or to answer the late night phone call, or to put on a fashion show with the third floor besties.

Do not pull all-nighters doing school work. I never did and I am thankful for that. And all of my school work still got done.

Honor the sacredness of Sundays, the day of rest. I wish that I did that more. I wish that I honored the day the Lord has called us to rest a little more often. Work can be done on other days, even if it isn't fun those other days. Take a day to fully rest and delight yourself in the Heavenly Father.

Don't put God in a box. God is the Lord. He is the Creator of the universe and he cannot be limited. Do not set expectations that will limit God, but believe that He can do more than you could ever think or imagine. Open yourself fully to the work that He wants to do in you.

Share wardrobes. College are some of the only years where you get to live with lots of people and with lots of wardrobe options, so take full advantage. And then one day, way down the road, when you get married your roommate will be the opposite gender and you can't share clothes anymore (womp), so do it now.

Take classes that you love and study what you love. I did not regret a single class that I took that I actually enjoyed. I chose to study a subject that was interesting to me, challenged me intellectually, and made me want to (sort of) go to class and do the reading. You do not have to choose a major that will make you a ton of money just because that is what the world says you should do.

Take hold of the small things in life and practice being grateful always. The Lord speaks through little things and He blesses us abundantly, sometimes we just have to open our eyes by being thankful for the little blessings He has put in our lives.

Travel and go on adventures. Use fall breaks, spring breaks, and Christmas breaks to go on all sorts of adventures. Once you get a big kid job breaks don't come as readily, so use them while you have them to see new places and to spend time with friends traveling all over. And do it all on a college budget... it's entertaining, spontaneous, and memorable.

Honor the Lord with your school work. Having the opportunity to go to college is a privilege and a blessing and should be treated like one. Never be completely irresponsible with your time in school if that is where the Lord has called you. But all the while, show yourself grace when you don't do as well as you had hoped or thought you would.

Serve. Serve in a campus ministry or serve at a church or serve in a campus organization or simply serve your neighbors, but serve, somehow, some way.

Don't live in a "if I can just get to ______________" mentality. Fall break, winter break, summer, end of finals, end of that exam, your vacation weekend is never ever enough. That mentality is always a vain hope for deliverance and it will not save you; it will only wish your days away and leave you disappointed when you realize that things are never as perfect as you had imagined on the other side of that deadline.

Dance in the rain and play in the snow. You won't be sad that you did and you can feel like a little kid again. Note: no matter how intense the rain, attempting to tube down McCauley will not be successful, but it may include lots of laughter.

Eat lots of pancakes. At the McMansion with so many friends is kind of the best.

Remember that we were created for eternity, not for this world. There will be quite a few disappointments during your time in college... caused by yourself, your friends, family, professors, or just the circumstances of life, but do not lose heart. Jesus, says "take heart, I have overcome the world." Things are surely not always easy, but an eternal perspective will bring hope when nothing else can.

If you go to UNC, get a cherry smash from Sutton's regularly. It provides a little bit of soul sunshine every single time.

You are never "so busy" that you do not have time to spend with Jesus. You choose what time to set your alarm for in the morning and you can choose to say "no" to some of the many things you have in your day if it means you spend any amount of time with Jesus. So choose Jesus. I only regret the days that I did not make the time.

Send snail mail to your friends that aren't in your town. It's always appreciated, keeps the USPS in demand, and brings unexpected joy.

For seniors, it is completely okay if you do not know what you want to do with your future... and I seriously do mean that (no matter how many times people ask you and expect an answer). You were not made to do one great thing, you were made to serve one great God. So do that.

Love, always love. Love your housemates, roommates, friends, teammates, leaders, professors, class mates, and every person you in encounter. You won't regret it and love does things... to you and to the people you love.


Today I pray for all of you beginning another semester of school that is right around the corner. I pray that it will be another semester that grows you more into who the Lord has desired you to be. I pray that you extend yourself and those around you grace each and every day and that you are challenged to be more like Christ in the way that you live. My prayer is that you never stop loving Jesus, even when it gets tough and that you realize your only hope can be in the One who has already saved you.