“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10: 38-42
I don't know about you, but I'm a grade A multitasker. I think it is just part of a woman's DNA. I can iron my dress for church, do my makeup, and check all of my social media before 9 am. I can watch Say Yes to the Dress, write a 2000 word paper, and plan next week's schedule, all while sipping a pumpkin spice frappuccino (basic, I know).
But sometimes there are those days, months, and if we are completely honest sometimes YEARS where nothing seems to go right. You feel like you are literally drowning in essays about governmental policies and the history of the Peloponnesian war, your job and your work schedule overlap and you actually contemplate the dynamics of being in two places at once because bills don't pay for themselves (plus your bank account says you have like two bucks), and you start to wonder if "drowning in a sea of responsibilities" is an actual cause of death. Unfortunately, even for the grade A multitasker sometimes college and to be honest life in general just gets so overwhelming. Another unfortunate reality is that we can not all just drop these responsibilities when they become overwhelming, so what are we supposed to do?
One thing I struggle with is getting caught up in my thoughts. I start to pursue these thoughts, these messy, fickle, and most of the time false thoughts. They lead me to make choices which ultimately lead to actions that are the antithesis of who Christ is. These actions are jealous, angry, and filled with anxiety. They are quick decisions that I make when I am overwhelmed, when I choose to let my emotions guide my choices rather than my God. The world that we live in changes constantly. The class you are desperately trying to pass this semester will not be the same one you are desperately trying to pass next semester, the school's whose approval you long for will more than likely change in a couple of months, and the attention you seek for will never be enough to satisfy you. We as the body of Christ need to root ourselves in the reality of the Gospel that is never changing. The God that we read about is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. So just breathe. Don't just wait for the next break in your schedule because you will never make it. You have to find peace in Christ amidst the constant business of life. When we root ourselves in the Gospel we can enjoy the little things in the midst of all of the crazy.
School is very important, don't get me wrong, but it is not eternal and I think that is where some people make their mistake. Don't get so caught up in school that it becomes your primary focus. Your primary focus should always be God. Remember the story of Mary and Martha? Martha was busy preparing for Jesus. She was running around like a crazy woman cleaning and making sure everything was absolutely spotless and perfect. She was working HARD. While Mary, on the other hand, was sitting at Jesus' feet soaking Him in, listening to His every word. She was not focused on worldly things that "needed to be done" she was focused on eternal things. She was focused on Jesus.
Doing well in school can be an act of worship to God by using the talents He gave you to glorify Him, but don't let it become WHAT you worship. Don't worship your straight A's, your planner, or your anatomy textbook, because I hate to break it to you but on judgment day, God isn't going to be looking at whether you made an A or a C in Organic Chemistry. He's going to see if you loved Him, if you believed in Him, if you proclaimed His name to the world without shame, if you used your talents to glorify Him. Don't forget to kneel at His feet.