End of the semester.

And...all of a sudden or finally at long last, you're about to take exams and first semester is over.

As I walked and prayed on your rainy campus today, I was just thinking about you. I have missed seeing you over the last several weeks. My family and I were away for a family wedding a couple weeks ago and this past weekend was Thanksgiving. You are moving into a weekend of studying for exams, you take your exams next week and many of you will be heading home for a month plus of time away.

A break is so good. Sleep, no class...it's nice and necessary. But when school life is the main routine that you live these days and you leave to go home to family and friends that you don't regularly live with now, it's not always easy. I've learned that sometimes several weeks into a college break, maybe even several days, that it can sometimes be hard or at least awkward to be out of your normal college life routine. I will pray that in some way you might encounter God in the midst of it.

We are now in the season of Advent, a time to watch and wait for the arrival of Jesus. Yeah, He's already been born, but we get this chance each year at the start of the Christian year to wonder how His arrival affects and keeps on affecting my life. Maybe you'll have some sense of what He is up to in you while you are away. Maybe not. That's ok. No pressure to figure it out.

I'll miss you while you're away. If I can serve you in any way, call or text me. I'll be around. God's peace as you take your exams. Study hard. Do well. And remember, how you do does not define who you are. God does that when He calls you son, when He calls you daughter.

Peace to you this Advent.

There's more.