Be All There.

I made it, everyone! It's a miracle. Freshman year was one for the books. Am I ready to go home? Well, that's the big question. Yes, I'm excited to see my parents and my siblings, but I'm not ready to leave this family. The people that surround me every single day in this tiny college town. These people are my family too. I am home here. So, am I ready to go home? The best answer I can give you is, I already am home.Here's the tricky part though, the house I grew up in? That city? That's home for me too. I can't wait to be home, but I'm also dreading the homesickness I'm going to feel all summer. Home is not a place for me anymore. Home is a feeling. It's the feeling of rest, comfort, and peace. Home is people. It's the people who make you feel safe that give you that feeling of "home."I am going to be homesick this summer. I'm going to be wishing for a time machine constantly, because I can never come back to this year. All of my friends that are seniors this year will be gone next year, and there will be new freshmen next year to take my place. I'll never be able to live in the freshman girls' building again (okay, I'll be fine with this honestly). Everything will be different.There's nothing I can do to stop this from happening. I have no control over this. The seniors have to graduate, I have to move out of my dorm room, my best friends will be hours away from me all summer. I don't want any of this to happen."Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God." -Jim ElliotYou've probably read this quote somewhere before. I've heard it repeated over and over all of my life. In church, in books, in everyday conversation. It's everywhere. Until now, I've never really thought too much about it. Wherever you are, be all there.It's easy to be "all there" whenever you are in a place that you want to be. For me, like I said before, I just want to stay in this little town with these people that have become my family. Leaving this atmosphere, even though it's just for three months, is going to be hard. I'm not going to want to be "all there." But if I'm constantly trying to be somewhere I'm not, life is going to pass me by.Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God. Summer break is the will of God for college students. Spending time with family is God's will for me. I have to remember that. "Living life to the hilt" means to live life to the fullest, holding nothing back. To live life to the fullest, I have to be present. I have to be all there.My main point here is that, wherever you are can be home to you. You just have to make it that way. Maybe you're the complete opposite of me, and you're in college longing for the weekend so that you can go home. That's 100% ok. If you're looking for ways to make college be your home as well, get plugged in! Find Godly friends to surround yourself with, get involved in campus activities, and do whatever you can to find your place.God has put you where you are right now for a reason. Be there. Be present.words by Lucy Boyland and photo by Kate Bartley