College is hard for many reasons. Obviously the classes are tough and taking care of yourself is tough too. Yet, one of the most difficult things I have been struggling with is staying true to myself. I am in a completely different place with completely different people and it is definitely safe to say that I have lost myself a bit. The details of this aren't really necessary. All you need to know is that I lost myself...and this past weekend I found myself again.
I had the privilege of going on the Catholic Student Fellowship retreat. I have been going to mass on campus since the first week I got here so I knew some of the people. Cordy, my roommate, always goes to mass with me so I had an instant friend in my faith. But aside from her, I didn't really have any friends that were passionate about Catholicism. It is much easier to keep your faith when you around other believers and it is easy to lose it when you are with nonbelievers. I was looking forward to this retreat for many reasons. One: I would be able to go spend a weekend in the beautiful mountains and see the amazing stars at night. Two: I would get to meet people that love God just as much as I do.
This retreat was everything I dreamed it would be and more. On the very first day, I had a great conversation with Father John, our Chaplain. I talked to him about everything that has been going on in my life, particularly the break-up that has been tearing me apart. Father John got on his knee, put his hand on my shoulder, and prayed a beautiful personal prayer for me. I think that was the moment I was brought back to God. The stupid mistakes I have made did not mean anything anymore. All that mattered was the promise I made to myself to make a change and that I realized that God is going to help me be the person I want to be. I had an overwhelming feeling that everything really would be okay afterwards.
Aside from getting my priorities back in check, the best thing about the retreat was the people that I met. From the amazing sophomore girls that lead CSF to our amazing President to the amazing Servants of Christ Jesus to all my new freshman friends, I met incredible people that I pray will stay a part of my life for a very long time to come. God puts people in our lives for a reason and I know these people weren't brought to me by accident. I started to lose my way and my new friends are bringing me back to where I need to be. I could not be more grateful to them for this.
It was so nice to take some time away from the busy, stressful campus life. In our day and a half retreat, an essay or a lab report or an article never even crossed my once. To be able to let everything else go and just focus on God and the people I was with was an incredible blessing. Since leaving Mt. Evans, I feel like I have been on a natural high that hasn't faded. I feel revitalized and just all around happier than I was before. It feels like this retreat is one of those memories that will go down as life changing. Blessed be God!
No comments:
Post a Comment