Give It All to God
By Zaire Davis
This year I have grown mentally, emotionally, and most importantly, spiritually. I grew up in a church home. I was baptized when I was younger, said my prayers often, attended church regularly, but the connection between God and myself was feeble. The way to describe my relationship with God was as if he were a distant cousin that I continuously told myself I needed to reach out to but could just never find the time to do so. College has pushed me to the edge. There have been several situations when I have been tested academically and financially. There have been times when I have wanted nothing more than to drop out and just give up. There have been times when I have asked myself if all the stress was going to be worth it. And there have been too many times when I questioned my worth and if I was good enough to even be here. I began to look for answers from my parents, my teachers, my peers, and myself. But sometimes when that self-doubt sits in your stomach and continuously pines at you, it can be almost impossible to escape the aching, miserable hole that school can put us in. This was one of the most crucial points in my life. When I was at my lowest, I began to look higher. I started going to church on Sunday mornings and started to listen to the words of the pastor and obtain it to my life. I began to be present. We all know that there is a difference between being physically present and mentally present. There have been numerous times when I am in a lecture (or in this case, church) and my eyes are glazed over and I am piecing together the outfit I will be slaying in that night. This is not being mentally present. When I started to take scriptures and attempted to understand their meaning and value, that is when I began to see change. When I began to pray on my problems, that is when I began to feel peace in my heart. When I began to let go of my struggles and stopped having pity parties, I began to have hope again. Sometimes the biggest obstacle in your way is you. Try and fix your mindset on situations that are not working out in your favor. Often we do not see the toll that our negative energy can bring us until we are deep in the pit of despair. Let go and give it to God. Believe that everything is going to be okay, say your prayers, and know that He will wake you up tomorrow with a new chance to have a great day. “A cheerful heart is good medicine but a crushed spirit dries up the bones”. –Proverbs 17:22