My senior year is not going how I had originally expected, and I think all of us seniors can agree with that. I know we all had plans that we were looking forward to for the rest of the year, but unfortunately they were canceled. In times like this it can be very easy to turn away from God and ask “Why? Why me? Why now?”, but I see this as an opportunity for us to seek Him instead. This social distancing period has been full of ups and downs, but I can honestly tell you it has been one of the biggest seasons of growth for me in my spiritual life.
In Joshua 1:9 it says, “Do not be afraid for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” This is my favorite verse and it also happens to be our senior class verse. I love this verse because it tells us to not be afraid and to solely rely on Him. To quit listening to fear and letting our emotions take over, because our emotions are not always in line with truth. But our great God is a God of truth, and His Word is truth. These reminders have been keeping my heart at peace. My faith has become so much stronger during this time because I have had so much more time to read and study my Bible, and have been able to spend quality time with God in prayer. There’s a song called “See A Victory,” by Elevation Worship with a line in it that says, “You take what the enemy meant for evil, and You turn it for good.” I think that applies so well to our situation. We could look at our situation and stay fixed on the fact that all of these things are being taken away from us, and how it’s not fair (these feelings are totally valid and it’s okay to be upset,) but this is a chance for us to really lean into Him.
Our God is always good, even in the hard times and the times of uncertainty. Our circumstances may be changing, but He never does. We might not be able to go to school, or to church, or see friends, but the awesome thing about this is, even if we can’t be together, the school building doesn’t make school, the church building doesn’t make church, and community isn’t only when we’re together. We are still one body of believers and God is everywhere. He’s not just in the church, not just at our school, He’s omnipresent and always with us, just like it says in Joshua 1:9.
There are a few things I’ve learned throughout all of this 1) to never take things for granted and 2) to trust God wholeheartedly. There are a lot of simple things in life I’ve taken for granted, such as seeing friends or going to the beach. But, I’ve learned how important family is and to spend time doing things we don’t usually get to do because we didn’t have the time before. We kind of have all the time in the world now, but don’t tell our teachers that 😉 I’ve learned to trust God and pray whenever I am anxious or have worries, instead of not taking it to Him and carrying the burden myself. Even if I can’t see His plan, I can still trust it. Of course, it hasn’t all been easy. There have been times when I’ve struggled with doubt, but no matter what my mind says, I know that what God says is the truth.
I want to personally thank all the teachers, staff, Dr. Pratt, and Mr. Stutzman for all of your hard work. Thank you for learning new technology so that even in a global pandemic we still get to learn, and for taking the time out of your day, so we can. Even though it’s not the senior year we were expecting, we are still so, so grateful. Thank you.
-Anna Mays
