What I learned in College: Senior Year

What I learned in College

Freshman Year: Click Here

Sophomore Year: Click Here

Junior Year: Click Here

Senior Year

Ah, senior year. When I was a freshman, seniors were so cool. They seemed like they ran the world. They were just so old and awesome. Yet, now that I’m in my 4^th year of college life, I don’t really feel that cool… at all.  Regardless, I’ll try and write a cool blog post. Unfortunately, it’s hard to write a blog post about what you learned in a year when you blogged as you learned throughout the whole year, so bear with me if have the lessons below are just links to other blog posts. Nevertheless, here is my paltry attempt to capture what I learned in my final year of college.

Involvement not included

Something peculiar happens when you get to your junior or senior year. Suddenly, it seems as if the friends you met in the first two years of college have disappeared. People get busy. People get burned out. People get clique-y. Unfortunately, as you get to the later stages in your college life, hanging out with friends becomes a challenge. Classes get harder, people get busier, and being “involved” loses its glamour. This isn’t so much a lesson learned as much as it is a peculiar trend. That said, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. The college cornucopia of friendships doesn’t last forever, and in your senior year, it begins to disseminate. Never fear though, for with new seasons come new opportunities. I’ve found that God always puts me around the people I need to be around, even if I don’t know it. We do well not to despair when we get farther away from some and closer to others. Such is life. While some relationships are worth the intentional interaction necessary to keep the relationship alive, others are allowed to be laid to rest in a bed of great memories and jolly feelings.

Yet, there is something to be said about perseverance. If we stop serving because it loses its excitement, we will be doomed to let emotions drive our life. The Christian life is about perseverance and character. While the average human lets their desires drive their actions, the Christian acts despite their desires by the power of the Holy Spirit. Joy is found in service, not status. Let’s make sure we fully commit ourselves to serve our community and not ourselves.

We criticize what we don’t understand

We, as humans, have a nasty habit of disliking what we don’t understand coupled with a tendency to always assume that we DO understand. The combination of these two tendencies leads to a world of discrimination, division, and disgust. Need a good case study? Just watch your favorite social media feed. People are found spouting off opinions and convictions on a colorful multitude of topics ranging from politics to sports to celebrity relations to non-existent girlfriends. Unfortunately, we all judge people and situations with a heavy bias of our own interpretational fortitude. How do we deal with this? Simple: humility. The older I get, the more I realize that there is so much I just don’t understand. The deeper I get in wisdom, the deeper I realize have yet to go. We are too afraid to say the words “I don’t know”. Just as you can only fill a cup when it’s empty, you can only acquire knowledge when you admit you aren’t full. So be quick to listen and slow to speak. They say light travels faster than sound, that’s why someone looks bright until they open their mouth… I’m sorry, but I have no shame.

God is giddy with love for you

God’s love is truly amazing. I’ll let one of my favorite blog posts explain: Click Here

Thankfulness, Humility, and Joy are best friends

When you are thankful, you are joyful because you are focusing on what you have and humble because you are realizing that it wasn’t earned, but given. When you are humble, you are thankful that you are not gallivanting about your own rights and you are joyful because no insult or trial can steal your contentment. When you are joyful, you are humble because you know your joy is from God and you are thankful, well, because you are just plain joyful! All three are intertwined. The rest of this lesson is found in just being thankful: Click Here

We are obsessed with how we are perceived

Beauty makes a beast: Click Here

Our struggle stems from Pride and Insecurity: Click Here

God reveals Himself through relationships

The summer of my senior year, I proposed to Rachel. It was awesome. I’m still not quite sure if my feet have touched the ground. I’ll keep you updated. While I was swimming in deep cool blue pool of joy, I saw a new glimpse of God. This led to my most popular blog post ever (probably just because people were looking for the story of my proposal): Click Here

But the greater lesson is this: God is in Himself a relationship. He is three in one. He is three personalities continually yielding to one another in love. It’s like each one says to the other “After you!” Moreover, because God is and always has been Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Love and community have always existed. You were made in God’s image, so when you are not continually loving and serving and yielding to those around you, you are not being who you were created to be.

God shows Himself in romantic relationships. I’ve learned oodles of lessons about who God is by simply honoring, serving, loving, and interacting with Rachel. What’s more, once Rachel and I get married, we will become even more like our God because we will, like God, be two personalities in one joined being. In essence, we will be a couple imitating the trinity. Quite frankly, it’s going to be awesome.

Not only does God show Himself through friends and girlfriends, but also through parents and family. The best way God has described the relationship between two of His personalities is as Father and Son. I have no doubt that when (God-willing) I’m a father, I will see and understand God in a whole new perspective. Until then, I am continually learning how to be His child. I write more on fatherhood here: Click Here

Ultimately, the greatest way to experience God is by loving others. What is the greatest commandment? To love God with all that you are and love others as yourself. Everything in this world hinges on us doing just that.

Life is meant to be lived with the Spirit

From the world’s point of view, being a Christian is not an easy thing to do. C. S. Lewis said “I didn’t go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a bottle of Port would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity.” God demands sacrifice. However, now with the Holy Spirit, the Christian life is the only way I want to live. In fact, being a Christian is the easiest way to live, because this entire world was originally designed for us to live as children of God. When we live as we were created by the power of the Holy Spirit and in constant communion with Christ, life becomes purposeful, joyful, and powerful.

I spent my senior year seeking the Spirit to hear God’s voice. Every morning, I asked Jesus to walk with me that day. I yearned to be in constant conversation with the King. As a result, my life and purpose changed from living for God to living with God. I stopped trying to serve God and I started seeking Him. I’ve learned that we too often listen to the lies of the enemy: God doesn’t want to use you today. You’re not religious enough. People won’t listen to you. Your effort is worthless. God only moves through perfect people. God won’t use you because of what you did. But those are all lies! God uses ordinary people to do His extraordinary will. Every day, we must ask Jesus to remind us of our identity in Him and walk with Him in boldness and grace. We need to live lives where if Jesus doesn’t show up, we look like idiots. And we need to be okay with looking like idiots if God doesn’t work how we want Him to.

Prayer is power

My senior year, I took Jesus seriously when He said “If you ask, you will receive.” Every day, I asked Jesus who to pray for. Sometimes a name would pop in my head. Sometimes I would just scroll through my contacts on my phone with my eyes closed and pick someone, trusting God to guide my finger. Sometimes God even gave me directions. Whenever I sat down to pray for someone, I just asked God “Okay, what do you want me to pray for? What do you want them to hear?” Every time I did, I felt straight up crazy. I felt like every prayer was a long shot. But prayer after prayer, people affirmed that they heard exactly what they needed to hear. It was humbling because I knew it was all God and none of me. It was joy-inducing because I got to feel the love God had for others. It’s like He shows me how He feels about others, and every time I can’t help but smile and laugh while praying.

We have this idea that prayer merely equips us to do a greater work, when really, prayer is the greater work. Prayer isn’t our last resort; prayer is our every breath. We cannot move without it. Continued here: Click Here

Don’t worry about money

Worrying about money is stupid. God has reminded me over and over again to never worry about it. Ever. Whereas our society tells us earn more to get more, Jesus says give more and you will get more. Isn’t it true though? I’ve had buyer’s remorse so many times in my life, but not once have I ever had giver’s remorse. God blesses us to bless others. Christians are meant to be rivers of blessing to this world, not ponds. If you let God’s blessings flow through you into other’s lives, God will continually pour out His blessing into your life. Yet, if you keep all your blessing in a pond, not only will God withhold, but your pond will dry up. The only way to get more is to give more. So don’t worry about money. Just follow Him and it will always be added to you.

Welp. That’s it for this blog series. If you read all four, then you’re probably the only one. Good for you! If you’re in college, I just pray that God would use you to do even greater things. If you’re older than me, I’d like to learn from you. Thanks for reading!

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What I learned in College: Junior Year

If you missed my first two posts, you can find them here:
Freshman Year: http://remyeaton.blogspot.com/2012/12/what-i-learned-in-college-freshman-year.html
Sophomore Year: http://remyeaton.blogspot.com/2012/12/sophomore-year.html

What I learned in College: Junior Year

Between sophomore and junior year, I went from feeling young and inexperienced to mature and confident. I still had the desire to be childlike and humble, but all the lessons and experiences from the past two years allowed me to be rooted in Christ. It was a turning point from underclassman to upperclassman, from naïve child to mature adult.

Jealousy and Envy

Coming off my sophomore year, I was still single and loving it. But that didn’t prevent me from yearning for the beauty of women and the comfort of friendships. This introduced me to a little destructive duo known as jealousy and envy. They are twins and they both like to steal joy. While single, I still looked at the friendships and relationships that others had with a green eye. I had crushes and I had friend crushes. I resented the fact that I wasn’t as cool, as handsome, as wealthy, as spiritual, as popular, as whatever as someone else. From my experiences, I can tell you that envy will take every blessing you have and hide it in the shadows, making you feel cold and barren. Growing up, no ever really focused on preventing jealousy and envy. I didn’t even know I what envy was until one of my housemates told me he was struggling with it. When you look at what everyone else has, you can’t enjoy what you’ve got. If the grass looks green on the other side, you need to water your own lawn. Don’t let envy and jealousy rob you of your joy. It’s a cancer of the heart. God hates ingratitude. Become friends with humility, thankfulness, and joy.

Miracles

Over the summer, I started looking into miracles. Do they happen? When? Where? Why? Did miracles just happen in the days of robes and dirty sandals? Or is God still doing miracles through the Holy Spirit today? I read accounts of miracles like Like a Mighty Wind by Mel Tari (read it) and Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire (read this one too). I asked the big questions and struggled with why God didn’t do miracles around me. I began pursuing God’s power, not just His love. I spent the summer discussing the topic of miracles with my closest friends until we went to the Jesus Culture Awakening Conference in Chicago. All I had researched happened there. People were healed on the spot. The lame walked. The sick became well. There was even a guy who had a bullet in his shoulder disappear completely. It freaked me out. One thing I learned was that doubt will always exist. Even after seeing it with my own two eyes, I still didn’t quite want to believe it. It doesn’t matter how much you investigate it and it doesn’t matter how many miracles happen right before your eyes, your flesh will still doubt. Oh,, your broken bone was healed? Show me the x-ray. Oh, it’s right here? It must be faked. Oh, your doctor validated it? How did you trick him to believe it to? Faith isn’t faith without the rejection of doubt. If you tell a child that your arm was broken and now it’s healed, they will believe you. Instead, we have to feel the holes in Jesus’ hands just like Thomas. That’s where we have to come to as Christians. In the Kingdom of God, seeing isn’t believing; believing is seeing. There are no experts in the Kingdom, only children. God doesn’t move through highly qualified spiritual juggernauts; He uses ordinary people to do His extraordinary work. I saw the Spirit move, and frankly, it scared me. It took me out of my comfort zone. No longer was God an idea. No longer was the Spirit a feeling. Everything was now tangible. I couldn’t live a comfortless and placid lifestyle knowing that God will do the supernatural if we will just ask. If you doubt that God does miracles at the word of His children, believe me: God does miracles. I’m not trying to trick you. I have nothing to gain. I am simply reporting the truth. And these aren’t just the we miraculously found the right kind of medicine to heal you in 5 years miracles, but the you just got healed on the spot miracles. They happen. We just don’t ask for them. And when we do, we do it without faith. We must pursue God’s presence with faith if we want to see His power.

I wrote about that conference and miracles briefly here: http://remyeaton.blogspot.com/2011/08/do-you-believe-in-miracles.html

Be content with those around you

You know when you are in a room with a bunch of people and they are all bundled up into a bunch of little circles? Isn’t that strange? Or how about when you go to a restaurant with a bunch of your friends and you do your best set sit in the best spot for social interaction? We are social creatures and that can create some interesting habits. One habit I noticed in myself all through sophomore year and the beginning of junior year was that I would always work to put myself in the circle with the best conversation. When in a circle of friends, I would subconsciously survey the room to make sure there wasn’t another circle that was more entertaining or filled with more laughter than mine. It goes back to that envy and jealousy thing. I wanted attention. I wanted to be “in”. Junior year, I finally got sick of trying to talk in the funniest circle, sit next to the best people, or be associated with the most respected crowd. I dropped my social ambitions and just said “God, I am going to sit myself down and let you put the people around me that You want to.” So I did, and let me tell you friends, what a relief it was! No longer was I concerned about being in the best social position. Rather, I lowered myself and became a wallflower such that God could make it evident who He wanted me to talk to rather than who I wanted to get in a conversation with. My self-worth was no longer who I was with, but who I was for. Learn to be content with the people around you. Every person is a unique image of God found no where else in existence. Don’t yearn to be around others when you have precious children of God right around you. Seek to serve your neighbors; don’t seek new neighbors.

I write about this idea here: http://remyeaton.blogspot.com/2011/09/self-worth-whats-it-worth.html

Rachel

I started dating Rachel. I can’t really keep the lessons learned from this shorter than 5000 words, so I am just going post my blog post on dating. Most of what I learned is reflected there. What I can say is this: I remained single until it was absolutely clear that dating Rachel would glorify Him more than me being single. I pursued her as Christ pursued me. Now, I have a passion for how to date in a Godly manner. The following blog post shows all the wisdom I learned about dating junior year:
http://remyeaton.blogspot.com/2012/10/how-to-date-well.html

God Speaks

Until my junior year, I only heard God’s voice through sermons, music, events, and so on. I never imagined that He would speak to me in my mind about myself and others. The truth is: the closer to God you get, the more you can recognize and listen to his voice. My junior year, I began to seek God’s presence through prayer. When praying for myself and others, I simply asked Him to give me words. I made myself believe that whatever thought ran through my head was His voice. I asked Him to prevent other spirits from speaking to me during prayer. If I was wrong or got embarrassed, it was okay because I knew He was in control. So I began texting people prayers. I simply asked God to tell me what to write. I wrote what I heard and sent it to people. At first, the responses were the typical “Thank you for praying for me” messages. But the closer and closer I got to God and the more time I spent seeking His will, the more descriptive the prayers became and the more unexplainable the responses were. People began to text back saying that every word I said was spot on to their life and that they couldn’t understand how I knew that about them. I simply laughed because I had no clue what I was doing. But once I got over the worry of being wrong or embarrassed, God used me to bring His voice into other's lives. I can’t say I hit the nail every time, but I can say that as I pursued God, He empowered me to pursue other people for Him. To put it simply: God rewards His children when they act boldly in His Name and He speaks to those who are willing to listen and obey. However, a fair warning is due: Don’t try to fill the silence with God’s voice. If you focus on trying to create the supernatural, it may work and it may not. But if you focus on loving people, you will never fail.

Blogging Bonanza

Junior year is when I started to blog. Again, I was never one to enjoy writing in high school. But the Spirit changed my heart and my desires and started giving me a passion for reading and writing. I don’t know why God made me seek to write down my reflections and post a bajillion Facebook statuses and tweets, but now I can’t stop. Very often, He will give me a word or a lesson that burns deep down, and if I don’t get it out, it drives me crazy. Regardless, I began blogging and now I can look back at over 70 blog posts, each one averaging thousands of words. In fact, because of my new found passion for blogging, I already wrote a blog on what I learned my junior year. I tried to keep this post short (Keyword: Tried) because I already have a post on my junior year.

Here is my blog post on lessons from junior year: http://remyeaton.blogspot.com/2012/05/jeremys-junior-year-lessons.html

That’s it for junior year! One more post to go!

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