God and School
Hello everybody,
I’ve been waiting to write this testimony for a very long time. I mean it when I say it; it’s been four years since I started my degree and four months since I told Do that I would write this testimony. And here I am, after all this time, able to tell you all that I’ve finished my undergraduate degree.
When I entered my first year of university, I was an eighteen year old kid who thought he knew everything, believed he could face anything. I’m leaving an almost twenty-two year old young adult, with the full realization that I know nothing. And that’s okay. I don’t need that same confidence and bravado that I used to have when I started university, because I have something more powerful than that: faith.
Every year of my studies presented a new challenge that the Father pulled me through. My first year was anxiety and depression, crowned off with a six month long strike. That’s when I learned to call upon His name when I was in distress (Joel 4:32). My second year was an inhumane amount of work; and I had to learn to rest in the Lord to balance it all out (Psalm 73:32). My third year was all about patience as I worked diligently towards a degree: waiting in the Lord, for His time as the Master of both time and circumstance (Ephesians 4:2, Daniel 2:21). And finally, my fourth year - one that I colloquially called ‘The Last Dance’ - was all about persevering through the hardest year of my academic life (Hebrews 12:1) and COVID-19. Trust me, it’s about time we got to the end.
So call upon Him. Rest in His presence. Be patient and in His time. Persevere through every endeavor.
I didn’t expect to be anywhere near where I am today, especially when I walked into my university for the first time. The Father saw that I was lonely, and gave me friends. The Father saw that I was tired, and gave me strength. He also saw that I was being ridiculous at times, and gave me lessons that were firm in nature. And that is all okay, for my story isn’t to glorify me, but to glorify Him. Everyday.
Even though I won’t walk on the stage with the rest of my classmates because of a global pandemic, I will know that my Father walked with me everyday of university. He did not leave me, or abandon me, because He loved me.
So if this serves as my de-facto valedictorian speech, may it be my testimony. I will walk out of my home away from home with a Degree in the Arts, a major in History and a minor in English, complimented by a certificate in bilingualism. But most importantly, clinging onto the Father more than ever, for He has delivered me of my enemies and brought me into a path of righteousness!
Praise Him,
Sincerely yours,
Eli
PS: By the time you read this, I’ve got a few weeks left before I go back to school and start teacher’s college, I’ll be enjoying my quasi-summer break. It’s all love and blessings. Peace!
