College Students, Never Forget You Are Never Alone

College: the perfect place to find God, right? As a matter of fact, yes, why not?

God is everywhere. He sees all things and knows everything, so college campuses are just another place to find him.

Unfortunately, many forget about God as soon as they step foot on a college campus. We might be overwhelmed with the workload, the social stress of going out to parties, joining clubs, and finding our way to adulthood. There is so much on our plate, so how can we be expected to have room for God?

My experience is within the American student lifestyle. And while Hollywood loves to exaggerate things, there is some truth on how crazy life for a college student can be.

College Lifestyle

Let me explain. There are parties and social gatherings within the Fraternity/Sorority parts of the school. Football and other sports events are the highlights of the week. Hooking up is possible, and often expected, as well as underage drinking. And the list goes on.

It doesn’t leave room for God to be part of the picture.

Yet, he is always there.

College isn’t easy. Staying up past midnight, trying to study for exams is no fun. Trying to figure out what to do for a living after college is stressful—finding people who care for you as a person and not as a potential personal gain can be tricky. And let’s not forget how EXPENSIVE college is!!

With all the stressors that arise at a stage in life where our brains reach their developmental peak, we need something to keep us grounded. We need something that will give us hope and make us realize that it is all worth it, but most importantly, Heaven is our end goal. So, I think college is the perfect time to solidify a relationship with God.

Anecdote Time

I wished I had realized sooner how much God loves me. He has always been there for me, through the good, the bad, and the ugly—no matter what, he stays. At times, I do not understand why he does, but those moments also help me know that he alone is capable of anything, and it is then when his nature, love, blossoms.

One of my favorite biblical verses is found in Matthew 7:7,

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

I can write multiple posts on how these words have been true in my life, but for now, I’ll stick to talking about it in general.
Whenever I felt stuck, alone, unsure, or insecure about even the smallest things, God always provides.

When Life Gets Hard

One of the most prominent times of feeling like this was my freshman year in college. I was in a dark place where I did not want God even to know I existed (a silly thing to want, I know). My grades plummeted, and that says a lot since for as long as I could remember, my happiness dwelled in academics. Seeing the effect my life choices had on my school work was one of the waking calls I received to see how I was wasting my life away. I wasn’t fine like I’d forced myself to believe I was, and I knew then I could not get well on my own. Finally, I did what I had avoided doing out for a long time; I prayed. Whimpers flooded my bedroom that night. The only words I managed to say were, “help me.”

Every night, I would say those two words over and over until I would fall asleep.

Finding A Breakthrough

And help me, he did. It is no exaggeration that it was a miracle that helped me pass my classes that semester. Even if I managed to get a perfect score on the final exam, I would barely pass with a terrible grade; yet, I finished with an A on that class. Tell me that is not a miracle!!

I am by no means saying that you should pray a novena and expect to pass all your college classes or get over whatever situation you might be in, but I am saying that God is always ready to help. My little grades-miracle is just the tip of the iceberg, but it certainly removed all hesitation that prevented me from building my relationship with God.

So remember, God will meet you in your brokenness and make you whole again, most times in the most unimaginable way possible.