Faith to Keep Going

Usually by this time in the semester I am feeling two wildly different opposite feelings. I get caught up in the rapid pace of the whole community speeding rapidly toward the end of the semester, preparing for commencement, hustling to get everything in. There are lectures and concerts and productions and inductions and students planning for summer. On the other end of things I feel like life is dragging a bit and that I am in a rut. By this time in the spring, I have had too many meetings (Dean on Call, Hot Names, and Cabinet) and too many lunches at my desk. Not to mention – enough trips to the hospital with students to get a bit too familiar with the ER “Ambassador Services” lady.

The good news is that this is Doggies in the Dell week! Some students actually miss their pets more than their parents, so come out and take a dog for a walk, throw a toy or just bring a blanket and rub some canine ears. Doggies in the Dell has the sole purpose of reducing stress. We are hoping for nice weather so that the dogs can hunt for Easter Eggs filled with treats and we can all get some needed fresh air. My dog, Snickers, loves students. She is usually exhausted for several days after a few hours with all her campus friends. Doggies in the Dell is good news for me because it is a change of pace and a chance to play together as a community. (See you Thursday!)

We are all called to live well and with intentionality every day, not just in the times that are fun, not just in the times that are easy. We have to live lives of love when everything is going our way and when monotony sets in. A friend passed this poem along this week and it speaks to me about faith in the ordinary times. The celebrations of Easter are over and we are back to live as usual, wondering what to do between the times of joy.

Faith
Sometimes I wondered if
I had any faith.
I sat down and thought about it.
And when I had had enough
of that I got up
and went on my way.
And that—the getting up
and going—was faith.
(by Mary Jean Irion)

Please take a deep breath several times a day in this final push toward May. Study hard, hold tight, meet all of your deadlines, and remember that sometimes getting up and continuing on is the greatest testament of faith we have.

Blessings Stephanie