The Journey to “Move-In Day”
Life on the Hill: Bison Blog
Paris, TN is 9.5 hours away from Oklahoma Baptist University, the place that I now love to call home. While deciding to go to OBU, I knew it would be such a long process in order to prepare spiritually and physically for August 19th, 2017. I began packing an exact month before Move-In Day, and as I began focusing more on the idea of college, it was a journey with God that I did not foresee. As I stood in my room, worrying about every tiny and pointless detail, I could not focus on the goal and purpose ahead. In worrying about about my roommate because I went random, to worrying about what exactly to bring, and lastly, worrying about bringing the life I had in TN to Oklahoma … I am here to tell you today, when you begin preparing for college spiritually, it is a time to solely focus on the Lord in order to clearly see and hear the plan that He has put in front of you. Those tiny details will not matter, and I assure, the Lord truly knows how to protect you, but also use you in way that glorifies His kingdom, so in the end, the tiny and pointless worries were a waste the whole time. BE FREE. EMBRACE GOD’S WILL FOR YOUR LIFE!!! From experience, you will be challenged in ways that you do not anticipate, you will doubt yourself at times, but the bottom line is, God has your future in His right hand and He will prove that to you time and time again. So why not trust Him the first time? “The LORD is the One who will go before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.” – Deuteronomy 31:8
I never really completed packing until it was time to leave home, and still, I had so much to do the night before I left. You may wonder, “HOW?!! You started a month before??” For me, I had to stay in a hotel the night before the big day. I still had to build a piece of furniture and get the last minute items. So … YES! I built a cube organizer right in the middle of the hotel room. “You gotta do what you gotta do,” right? Have no shame in doing everything to make your new dorm feel like “home sweet home”! In reality, your dorm room is NOW HOME. Yes, there will be weekends and breaks that will give you opportunities to go home, but in the end, home will be the room you spend the majority of your four years in.
I survived all of the preparation and made it to Move-In Day early in the morning with all kinds of excitement. The day was filled with different emotions because it was such an awesome but weird feeling regarding the fact that you are about to be on your own, making your own decisions, and living the life that you have been taught and raised to live for the past eighteen to nineteen years. Move-In Day was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING but also incredibly fast. It was filled with decorating walls and adding all of my favorite things to my room that made me feel more at home than I could have ever wished. It also involved making new friends that could last a lifetime.
No doubt, the journey to Move-In Day and the day itself was incredibly life changing and unfathomably amazing. The Lord was so present throughout the whole experience, and it allowed me to see and be reminded of the never ending grace, love, protection, and presence that He provides to His children every single day. My whole life, the Lord has given me opportunities to see His power in all things. I say that to say, never allow or make yourself believe that the power of prayer is not capable enough to obtain your concerns in the midst of this new journey of becoming and being a college student. If we allow ourselves to believe that, in reality, we are are saying God is not worthy enough or capable enough for us to come to and release our burdens to. Allow God to be centered and in control of this new chapter of life, because you will be used for HIS KINGDOM far more than what your mind can wrap around. I am a week into college, and I have had countless opportunities to serve the Lord on OBU’S campus. Although we are all paying lots of money to attend college to receive the education that we deserve, at the end of the day as Christ believers, we are to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ. Allow Him to use you in this next chapter, because I assure you, you will receive life changing experiences that will be blessings in disguise. From experiences all ready, God is ready, the question is, “Are you?”
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” -Romans 8:28
Life on the Hill: Bison Blog
