This week has been... an interesting week. I won't go into detail because I don't want this blog to turn into my diary, but I do like sharing the overarching purpose of what's on my mind. This past week I received the fruits of my lack of labor these past few weeks. Last semester in school I could get away with doing minimal work, putting forth a strong effort, and coming out unscathed. This semester is not the same. I'm taking more credits and didn't take into account how much that would change my schedule.
I've learned this week that binge watching Bones on netflix is not okay, reading a whole novel in one night is not a good idea, and sacrificing time with God will leave me feeling empty and downtrodden.
In my bible study this past week we talked about how our lives need to be prioritized with God first, people second, academics third, and social life fourth.
This is hard, though. For me, my biggest problem is God first and academics third. Academics third. God first. So many times I crawl into bed after a long day of classes and studying and realize I haven't done my devotions yet. Or if I forget to do my homework I stress out but if I forget to do my devotions, I just promise to do them the next day.
This is because academics are the here and now. Don't study for a test, fail test. Fail test, fail class. Fail class, don't get a job. Now I realize there are a lot of jumps taken in those statements but that is the mental process we go through, whereas God is just... always there.
While it's true that God will always be there, it's also true that you'll never have this day, today, to grow in your relationship with Him.
I had a conversation with my Dad about my struggle with priorities and he said something I'll always remember. He said "Julia, you'll always have something that you can put before God. Academics, work, family, whatever. But when we're gone, the stress of your finals won't matter. God wants us to be good stewards of our time but even more so He longs for us to further our relationship with Him." God longs for us to spend time with Him. Time on our knees, time in worship, time getting to know Him.
So here's the bottom line, my priorities are messed up. This is a constant struggle for me. But I do know that when I pray, the worries of this life fade way. My desire is to become more eternally minded and less earthly focused. While I have a long way to go, I won't stop trying.
