Words of Wisdom (or Experience) Part 2

This is my last week as a member of the student body of Purdue University, and America. I have been through a lot in my 4... (or make that 5) years of college. Lately I have been doing a lot of reflecting on my life here in West Lafayette and how it could have been different or it could have changed. It is a sobering thought that in 3 week's time I will really really be out on my own in the real world. So basically each day this week, I will try to leave you all with some story or something I have learned that you can use (if you like) in your own life. Maybe I have suffered some so you can suffer less by learning from my mistakes...

Monday (Give Maximum Effort, Don't Give Up!)

Maybe I'm the only one that feels this way, but I firmly believe in "it's not over until it's over". "Not until the whistle blows", "not until the clock expires", or even "not until the fat lady sings"...

I also believe in giving a total, absolute, maximum effort in everything I do. It is probably because I am the most competitive person I know. (Some of you will get that...) I also think that it glorifies God when we give full effort. I also know that there is a fine line between relying too much on yourself and not enough on God.

The truth is, none of us know what the ending is like until we get there. God is the only one that knows the end result, since He came up with it. That's why we are told to run the race with perseverance: Heb 12: 1-Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Giving up is just taking the wide road that everyone travels on, the easy way out. If you start something, you should finish it (unless God takes you in another direction, of course).

Throughout the time I have spent here at Purdue, I have run into many obstacles. The major one was my academics. Previously throughout my life I was regarded as smart. I felt like I was. And then I came to Purdue. The truth is here at Purdue everyone is smart. There is great competition everywhere. My grades started out okay after the first semester, but the next three semesters, they continued to deteriorate. I felt so horrible because I place so much of my self-worth in my grades. If I got bad grades, I was a failure. That's how I felt...

There were times when I wanted to give up. There were times I wanted to just quit and run away and hide somewhere. I felt how David would have felt about Goliath if he didn't have God on his side. School was my personal Goliath. David didn't give up because he had God on his side, and God knows the ending. Sometimes you must go through the tough times in order to get to the other side.

However, though it wasn't easy, I didn't give up. After consulting all sources, I went in another direction. And as it turns out (at least as far as I know) this other direction was the right one.

If I had not had all these academic troubles in my life, I would not be at Purdue. I wouldn't be writing this blog. I would probably be some hot-shot computer programmer working for a company like Motorola or Lockheed Martin or others.

I was then trying to become a Medical Technologist, and in order to do so, you are supposed to take classes at Purdue and then attend clinicals in a hospital so they can actually teach you everything you need to know to become a medical technologist. Last year was my "third year" in a 3+1 program, so I was supposed to apply to get into clinicals. I didn't get in. I felt absolutely horrible. I felt like a total failure. I felt like I was letting my parents down because they work so hard so I can have this education. I felt terrible about having to stay another year at Purdue. I was even angry at God. I wanted to know why I didn't get in, why He didn't let me in... I felt like giving up...

I also didn't see the ending. The ending I am currently standing at now. God saw the ending, though, in all His wisdom.

Looking back, this year has easily been the best year of my college life. I have made many more friends and relationships than I can handle. I have grown this year in leaps and bounds in my relationship with God. I have had more fun this year with my new friends (that keep me young, haha) than I have ever had with any set of my friends from the past. I think I can honestly say that I have no regrets about what happened in the past. I would not trade any of my current experiences from this year to be in that clinical class or a hot-shot programmer. God has given me peace, and I feel like I was supposed to be here at Purdue this year. And there really isn't a better feeling than knowing that you are exactly where God wants you.

Sometimes when things are going bad, you just have to put your head down and power through the situation. Don't ever give up when things look bad. (Always remember that we serve a God that is a winner!!!)