I Can Hear the Bells

Yes, I hear the faint Christmas bells sounding in the distance. I see the light at the end of the tunnel. It is hardly believable that I am almost finished with my first semester of college. I'm not saying the tunnel was necessarily dark, but it's just a feeling a person gets as they approach the final two days of classes in gleeful anticipation of finals week. Er, gleeful anticipation of the end of finals week, that is.

As I sat in the Howe Galleria of Pappajohn today eating my lunch, I had to look around and think back to those first days of school up here at Iowa. They seem like so long ago, but at the same time it does not seem that the semester should be coming to a close yet.

The first days at On Iowa, I was completely intimidated by the giant campus and the unfamiliar faces. The first bus ride, the first lecture, the first foreign TA. I learned that nobody would pay attention if I could just pretend to know what I was doing.

That week of classes, I wondered whether I'd ever make it to the weekend. I didn't know a single person. The classes, professors, and atmosphere were all rather overwhelming. Yes, the first week away from home was most certainly difficult.

Each week became easier than the previous. I was catching on in my classes, I found my shelter at Pappajohn, and I started to learn the ropes of grocery shopping and cooking, for the sake of my poor roommate.

Everything was falling into place, but I still felt like I knew nobody. If it wouldn't have been for my faithful roommate, I don't know if I would have maintained a decent level of sanity.

Recently, even these issues have become smaller as I've begun to meet other people. As minor as it may seem, it means a lot to be able to smile and say hello to a friend in the hallway. Or to even be able to call them a friend.

In a nutshell, I've found a place to call home number two. I love the school here, I love the city here, and I love the church here. For the sake of preservation, I still call Mediapolis my home. But on Sundays, I am not just "going back to school." I spend more than two thirds of my time here. I'm going home. To my second home.

"Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." (Phil. 4:11) Do you know how the Apostle Paul learned to be content? I think he may have realized that as long as God was with him, he should be content. Before leaving home, I felt content with where I was, but was concerned about how things would go at college. When I got to college, I realized that I had forgotten that God would be with me at the University of Iowa just as He was with me in Mediapolis. And as long as the Lord is by my side, I can find contentment, in whatsoever state I am.

I see this post is getting very lengthy, so I will give some time to catch up. I hope you are all having a good week, and that you, too, are able to hear the faint chimes of Christmas bells coming from around the corner! :)