Good morning! I hope your week is going well and that your Thursday is off to a good start! Our Lenten Devotional for today comes to us from Rebekah Stutheit!
Rebekah is a Sophomore from Saginaw, TX, and she’s double majoring in Religion and Communication Studies. Many of you might recognize her name, as she’s currently serving as The Office of Religious & Spiritual Life’s Social Media Intern this semester. While you might have seen her posting events and stories on our Facebook page, TCU Faith & Spirit, you might not have been able to hear her share her own faith journey yet. I thought we’d take care of that now. Rebekah is one of those incredible students that you love to work with, and I’m fortunate that I get to work with her not only in our office, but as one of the Vice Presidents of TCU Better Together (our interfaith organization) as well! Rebekah is intelligent, compassionate, funny, appropriately sassy at times (ha!), and deeply committed to her faith. I’m so thankful that I get to work with her, and I wanted to share her wisdom with you today. So take a moment, read her words for us today, and allow God to speak to your heart. Blessings on your journey…
Todd
February 25, 2016 By: Rebekah Stutheit
Joel 2: 12-13
12 Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your hearts, with fasting, with weeping, and with sorrow; 13 tear your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, very patient, full of faithful love, and ready to forgive.
Being a sophomore in college, it is hard to stay out of the infamous “sophomore slump,” or as I like to call it, the “mid-semester slump.” While I love school and all of the things the school year entails, I’m reaching the point in the semester where it gets hard to stay motivated and excited about my day-to-day tasks. It never fails that around mid-February in the spring semester, I begin to find myself tired and almost burnt out from my weekly routine. Because of this, I find it hard to make intentional time for God in my life, as I get caught up in the organized chaos that my schedule always seems to turn into.
I find it interesting that the season of Lent falls around the same time I start to feel my slump coming on. To me, there is a direct relationship between this feeling, and the feeling of those being spoken to in the book of Joel. As I reflect on them being told to return to God, I am reminded that in our busy lives we should also find time to return to God, for he is merciful and compassionate, very patient, full of faithful love, and ready to forgive.
No matter how long it has been, or how much our busy schedules may cause us to stray, God is always there waiting for us to spend time in relationship with God. I feel like there is no better time than Lent for us to remember this, and to help redirect our focus towards God.
God, help me to sit, be still, clear my mind, and open my heart to You now. I pray that You will speak to me now as only You can. Amen.
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