My first semester of CGA is ending in a matter of days. We have projects, papers and presentations due for our classes and social calendars packed to the brim with hanging out with people before the break. As I sit here reflecting on how fast these last few months have gone, I am reminded of all I’ve had the opportunity to learn. I could boil it down to these three points:
1. You will prioritize the things that are important to you.
I have found that despite what I want to be important in my life, what I spend my time doing and thinking about is really what I hold dear. If you want prayer to be a fixture in your life, you have to put down the Netflix. If you want healthy living to be how you live your life, you may have to stop going to get chicken wings with the girls every week. Life adjustments take sacrifice.
2. Shame has no place in your life.
A great thing I learned this semester: Guilt is ‘I did something wrong’ and shame is ‘I am something wrong.’ There were things in my life that made me feel inadequate, less than and wrong in comparison to others. But in being honest with people about our shame and our fears we bring these things into the open where it can no longer grow and fester in the dark. I am going to choose the freedom of living my life in the light.
3. The process of discovering your identity is never over.
I have always thought that at some point I would know myself and who I am in relation to the Lord. I would be this fully actualized person and only then could I walk through life with confidence and in pursuit of his call for me. This is a false statement. I will never be done finding out more and more of my identity in Christ. And thats the beautiful part of this journey called life; we get to learn every. single. day. different aspects of how God created us and the different ways we relate to Him.
CGA is like an incubator of self-awareness and growth. It gives you the freedom to figure things out, the space to find out what you are passionate about and the opportunity to really start pursuing the calling that God has for you. I am so excited to see what God reveals to me in this next semester and what I grow in and learn in the process.
