Though We Run, He is Faithful

It was all set. My bags were packed. I said my goodbyes. I was ready to move on. As I read my acceptance letter, I had everything planned out. I was going to room with my best friend, make new connections, and excel in all my classes. God wasn’t part of my plan, nor did I want Him to be. Independence and freedom from my parents was exactly what I was looking for. No more going to church on Sunday’s, no more Bible studies. I was going to make my college experience the best it could ever be. I was ready to start a new chapter in my life.

But before I even arrived at the University of Texas, my plans were flipped upside down. At the end of my senior year in high school, everything was falling apart. Day in and day out, I was perpetually fighting with my mom. I started to become more and more rebellious and started to hang out with the wrong crowd. During this time, my best friend got into serious trouble with the police. It was unclear whether he would be able attend the University of Texas in the fall. While I was trying to fix all the leaks, I failed to realize that my plan was about to break down and sink.

When I finally left home and headed to Austin for orientation, I was lost. Everything I planned for myself had fallen apart. I stumbled around campus unable to make friends, which I thought would be easy for me. Discouraged, I slowly walked to my last wing meeting for the day. There, I met Christian Students on Campus, whom I was trying to avoid at all costs. I saw them multiple times that day, turning them down repeatedly, but they continued inviting me to their Bible study at night. To this day, I still don’t know what caused me to go, but somehow they managed to get me there. Reluctantly, I sat and listened to the message. God’s purpose, which I had heard over and over again, finally became light and life (Psa. 119:105; Jn. 6:63). Although my heart was shut, God opened it. Although I was sad, God put a smile on my face. The reluctance and unwillingness within me disappeared. As I sat there soaking in each word, everything else seemed to disappear around me. As God continued to open my heart and my eyes, I prayed, “Lord, if you want me to be part of Your purpose, give me a year that will change my life.”

But to Him who is able to do superabundantly above all that we ask or think… (Eph. 3:20)

That was almost four years ago. As I look back at my college experience, I never imagined it would turn out like this. Through the various Bible studies, I saw more and more of God’s purpose and what He’s doing in each one of us today. Through the home meetings, I saw the special portion of Christ each believer has (1 Cor. 14:26). Through the conferences, I was brought under a heavenly vision with hundreds of other college students (Acts 26:19). And through the brothers, even though they got on my nerves 24/7, nothing and no one could give me so much joy and companionship in my life.

Although I thought I had run away, God never let me go (Heb. 13:5). He quietly was guiding my life. Though I did not know it at that time, God had arranged every situation where I would turn back to Him. The life that I thought I would have turned out to be a life full of God and His purpose. Having just graduated, I can’t help but reminisce. My life went a full 180°, from being an independent-minded person with no God in the future to a life where God is the future. And I wouldn’t trade these four years for anything else.