While I was preparing to write my article this week I experienced a heightened level of inner searching.
As college students we learn to truly value 10 minutes of free time – ironically the same amount of time it takes to read an article e.g. this article. Intentional writing brings into focus the audience as an active participant in the writing of any story; the goal of this column is for us all to be transformed while racing through the chaos that life can feel like.
Life gets busy; sometimes it will be great and other times it won’t, but that’s life. And it’s messy and oh so beautiful. We find moments of incredible significance and classes that, even though only last 50 minutes, can feel like they’ve lasted hours.
We all experience this weird journey differently, but learning that each journey is still valid is a great way to begin with peace in our hearts.
Realizing that each person has his or her own insecurities is crucial, but understanding that we can all be vulnerable about them is central to the theme of this piece. While preparing to write this, I was experiencing my own insecurities: everything from why anyone would want to spend 10 minutes reading my rambling insanities to the uncomfortableness of attaching your name to a public article.
I’m spinning exaggerations about how I was feeling, but while I was undermining my own self-worth I was allowing myself to become stuck in the monotony of what life can be.
While I was wilting under my own negativity, I was hit with a metaphorical two-by-four that has me spinning still. We all have busy schedules and most days we do get lost in our worlds but the God of the universe who is bigger than we can even grasp, places us first.
Before every other thing, our God grabs us by the hand and takes us to our metaphorical safe place to find healing and peace. God puts everything aside, but not really because let’s be honest, it’s God. He looks deep in our eyes and says, “There is nothing more important to me than you in this moment. You are loved and valued.”
This is a God of intimacy, a God of the one-on-one for all of us. This unique relationship we have with God can change us in ways that we never would have understood.
Three years ago, entering Gannon, I would never have imagined that as I stand in line for my 20-minute lunch I’m grabbing on the go, I would be going through the ethical experience that my food has gone through on its journey to my black Styrofoam plate.
When we enter into this relationship with God we do so as children do with their first friend. Maybe we are a bit unaware, maybe our arms are clenched tight, but we are entering into this relationship from a unique angle that only we know.
JARED SCHAAF