I hope that you all had a great break. There is something special about being able to return home and see the family after an extended amount of time away.
I was thinking about the journey that I took to visit my family. The drive was five hours and during that time I was thinking about all of the time I have spent here at Gannon University.
I thought about the long line of people who have already attended Gannon and are now busy about their lives doing the things they are passionate about.
I also began to think about all the years to come and all of the people who will walk down these very halls, sidewalks and use the same classrooms that we use.
I suddenly recalled the footsteps that Jesus took on his journey and all of the people he encountered.
Like you and me, he was able to study and meet new friends in the town where he lived. He worked a job and did fun things, just like we do today. He may not have had a smart phone or an iPad, but he still was communicating to his friends and neighbors.
There is an opportunity for meditation in that. The idea that we are passing through and that we have to make Gannon a better place than it was when we arrived.
Jesus healed people, and so do we. There is a friend that you may have that you rely on when things are not well. Or they are the best of times and you have helped him reached this far and perhaps he was healed by your conversation.
Jesus also had friends he relied on to help him along his way. The apostles and a community that helped support the ministry that Jesus led.
The concept that you have to accomplish great things to be “holy” is nonsense. You have to be a friend and a confidant. You and I have to be in the business of being present. That means we have to be available for each other.
I am guilty of being too busy when I want to be with friends and to share my life with the ones who have shared my journey with me.
There is also a time in Jesus’ life when he was busy, but not too busy. He always seemed to have the time to minister and be present.
Then I remembered the time when Jesus left the crowd to be alone and recharge.
In addition to being present and available to your friends, one of the most necessary things to do is find time to be quiet. There is a need for us to just have time to recharge and to spend time reflecting on our life by ourselves.
The one thing that I have learned from being here is that you need to be able to have good time-management skills.
The way to do that is to organize and to also set a time to do as you want. The things that you and I enjoy are sometimes overlooked when we have such a busy life.
There is an example of Jesus taking time away when he just sits and talks to his friends. He talks with the apostles and they tell him all of their concerns.
When the time comes for us to act, we have to have the resources to be a good source of energy and support for our friends.
The more we go in the academic life the more we are busy, and the more we need to take those breaks to re-energize our mind, body and spirit.
All of the remaining weeks that we have in this semester can be more productive if we take time to relax and enjoy the experience.
When Jesus visited the homes of his friends, he, too, was re-energizing and preparing to minister the next day.
The relationships that we have now may not last a lifetime, but, we can be sure that the interactions that we have are long-lasting in our memory and in the memory of the ones we meet.
There is a time for everything under the sun and the time to grow is always in front of us. We always heave an opportunity to make someone’s day a little better and we can also take advantage of the friends we have to allow them to bring a bit of joy in our lives as well.
Learning the requirements in a class syllabus is important, but, equally important is to be present for the people in our life every day.
ROB LOPEZ
