What College (Life, actually) is About

As I sit here after randomly going to a concert downtown Nashville I can't help but grin as I ponder how my day has been. Everything I had planned on doing today has not happened. Not a single thing. I had set the entire day aside to do homework and get ahead in some classes. The first step in the destruction of my plan was taken on Wednesday night. I was asked to volunteer four hours of my time to rake leaves for the Make a Wish Foundation. Sure, why not? Three guys I know are on the board of this organization and they were short handed. It would only cut into my day a couple hours because I would not get up early on my own. I started the day optimistic about the afternoon and evening for homework. I finished raking leaves and returned to my dorm and sat down to do a couple of problem sets. This was doomed to failure because I had to make a run to Kroger. I had no milk or cereal and I need to eat breakfast during the week or I get headaches and am grumpy most of the day. I was very proud of my time in Kroger- only about 3o min, even with the Christmas rush. I sat down at my desk once again, ready to begin my homework. But I had to return a phone call. I called my friend and she needed a ride to Target. Since I had some things to get from there too I had no problem giving her a ride. I had not seen my friend in a long time and it was really fun to hang out in the car as well as in the store. I dropped her off at her dorm afterwards and took a deep breath and gingerly sat in my chair, completely prepared to put a sizable dent in my remaining four or five hours before bed. I set everything I would need on my desk and decided to make a quick visit to check my Facebook account. Before five minutes pass I get a call from a friend to go to a Rush of Fools concert. She told me the tickets were complimentary, so how could I refuse. The internal battle lasted all of .02 seconds. The concert was extremely fun and we created memories that will be treasured forever. Now I sit and type all this to point to one thing: studying and working and all that has its place, but those are not the moments we will remember and hold onto throughout our lives.

The point of this life is to have relationships. First with our Maker and Savior, then with other people. This is what makes life worth living. Not the computer game we beat on our own with no one around. Not the 'A' we obtain by pushing everyone away from our lives so we can devote ourselves to school. The moments we spend with others change us forever. Even the painful times we think we will not survive teach us and mold us into the man or woman God thought of when He created us. Even so, is not the pain more welcome than the cold emptiness that feeds off loneliness? Is the 'B' or even *gasp* the 'C' worth a friend for life? We long for these relationships and yet sometimes it seems we can't break the downward self destructive cycle of intentional isolation. We can't seem to prioritize for our souls instead of our flesh.

Let me add a quick disclaimer: this is not a call for us to abandon our responsibilities to devote every waking hour to hang out with people. However, it is a call to reexamine ourselves to determine whether or not we are savagely repressing our need for relationships in order to meet worldly career goals and expectations. Allow God to work. Let Him speak to your lonely heart. We can wait together and see what He says. How about it?