By Christian Welker
A new semester has begun with all the stresses and anxieties we have come to expect, from the first-year students who are still learning about college life to the seniors who are starting their long sprint to the finish line, looking so near and yet so far at the same time.
Rest assured, this will not be a “Just give it to God” article. The Sparrows and Lillies don’t have a German test in an hour or a concert a week from today.
I firmly believe that the Lord is and always will be the ultimate source of peace for his children. However, I’m also willing to admit that in places like this, it often feels as though the very act of giving up your stress to God is a requirement that brings its own anxieties. It’s hard to lean on the peace of God while counting how many Around the Tables you still need to go to, or dragging yourself out of bed to get to church on the one day you would have been able to sleep in more, or even sitting in Chapel, worrying about the test you have during your 12 o’clock class that you really need to study more for.
At a place like Houghton, sometimes it can feel like trying to get the peace of God only helps drive it away. Professors talk about how students need to take Sabbath more and then give you 60 pages of reading and a paper to do before Monday morning. However, something I learned in my time at Houghton is that God doesn’t limit rest to going to church on Sunday and then sitting around doing nothing in the afternoon. Rest and Sabbath can be wherever you can fit it into your schedule. A Sabbath for me is Tuesday evening Nerf Nights in Roth. On the surface, it doesn’t seem relaxing to charge up three flights of stairs, blast random guys with toy guns, and then run back down to start over. However, it’s a time when I can put due dates and projects to the side for an hour or two and enjoy fellowship with my hallmates. We don’t tend to think of times like that as Sabbath because it doesn’t feel like God is there. Yet it provides the mental rest that we need as we continue on in the week.
These small moments are Sabbaths that students can take wherever and whenever they can. It doesn’t have to be weekly. If something needs to be done by Wednesday morning, you would be much more likely to find me in a study room than the trenches of Roth’s first floor, but having those times that you can set aside for your physical and mental health is important. Without times like these, you run the risk of burning yourself out or making yourself sick right before the big paper is due.
Is it good to rest on a Sunday after church? Of course! But it’s also good to take some time on Wednesday to watch your favorite TV show, spend Friday evening playing games with friends, or even just lay down on a bed or couch and relax between one class and the next. It may not add up to a whole day of rest, but taking a Sabbath where you can will help as we continue throughout the semester.
Rest can be found in the Chapel, but it can also be found in study rooms or dorm rooms, in the woods or on the quad, or anywhere where a student closes their textbook for a few minutes and thinks:
“You know what? I earned a break, and I’m going to lay down.” ★
