Biola University First Year Student Journals

A Weekend Away

November 21, 2005 | 1 comment

As another week of school ended and another Saturday night approached, I was once again reminded of the sad fact that I am a broke college student with no access to a car. It's amazing how many fun things seem to happen on a weekend when you have no way of getting to any of them! I am constantly at the mercy of everyone else - this has definitely given me a new appreciation for driving my car at home!

Luckily, however, this weekend was not like most weekends. Some friends and I were headed south in search of some R&R at Megan's gorgeous house in Murrieta, CA. Not knowing at all where that was, I was just excited to get off campus and into a cozy, relaxing atmosphere filled with friends, movies and LOTS of chocolate!

Our 1:00 departure time ended up being around 4:30, so I was able to experience firsthand the L.A. rush hour traffic during the Thanksgiving season. The usual one-hour trip took us about 2 1/2 hours, so when we pulled into the driveway, we were more than grateful to step inside and relax! And what do good friends do when they step inside a house? Head straight for the refrigerator!

Megan's mom had already set aside some ingredients for a meal, so we hurriedly put the food together and dove in. But, like any girls weekend, there was something missing; something very important. We needed that special something to complete our time away: chocolate!

As if on cue, all five of us headed towards the pantry, but sadly, there was no chocolate in sight: no cake, cookies, or candies to speak of. This was a major problem that definitely needed solving, so we pulled out Megan's chocolate recipe books, and looked for something decadent and delicious. My Food Network training had prepared me well for this occasion, and I immediately had an idea: a chocolate trifle. This layered-cake-goodness that I had seen on one of my favorite shows was perfect: chocolate cake, chocolate frosting, whipped cream, and toffee bits. This night was going to be good!

Four hours and 5,000 calories later, we sat in the living room completely stuffed, but unbelievably satisfied. We laughed, talked, and relaxed until 4 AM; we had another morning ahead of us with more baking and movies to watch, so we called it a night. Saturday came and went, and we all headed back to Biola calling Murrieta our home away from home. All in all, this was a very successful weekend!

It's always weird coming back to school after a weekend at home, and even though that wasn't my home, it gave me familiar feelings of being around people that I cared about. Wow. I miss my home and family a LOT. I have a bad habit of being so completely caught up in school that I almost forget about the outside world until it looks me right in the face. I'm happy that Thanksgiving is right around the corner and I am fortunate enough to be going home!

This bad habit of mine has developed into somewhat of a routine actually; I think I've become so focused on doing my homework and trying to get to class on time, that I forget that a large part of my being here is about developing relationships and keeping up with the friends that I already have. Now, don't get me wrong, as I said before, I love people; I would always prefer to be in a group laughing and talking than by myself. But, you know how when you start a new project, you kind of forget about that last project in progress? Well, not to compare people with inanimate objects, but this is the only way to explain my recent habit.

I've gotten into this mindset where if I have an assignment to do for school (which seems to be always), I will walk back from class, barely stopping to say hi, let alone start a conversation. The Lord has been speaking to me about this through the Bible study that I'm involved in. We're reading through the book Captivating (which I have mixed opinions about), but one particular chapter became of particular interest to our group, and we spent the whole hour discussing its relevance to our lives. It talked about a heart at rest, and how beautiful it is. I know that sounds totally random, but go with me: have you ever noticed how much more comfortable you feel around someone who is peaceful and is willing to just relax, rather than someone who is always on the go and needs to accomplish everything in 24 hours?

This whole idea really got to me ever since last week, and it's something that I've been trying to focus my time thinking about. Beauty flows from a heart at rest. I've been so concentrated on getting assignments done that I've let my time become all about school, and not enough about nurturing my relationships with friends and the Lord. Not that concentrating on homework is bad by any means, but anything that begins taking time away from what really matters can start to become a problem.

So, homework plays a definite role in my schedule everyday, but I've begun to allow myself time to just take a walk, start a conversation, or call one of my friends from back home. The homework that I have will always be around, but the time and opportunities that I’m allowed here will not.

Ephesians 5:15 insists that we "make the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil." I'm keeping that in mind now as I go about my day!

Journal Entries

• California, Here I Come
• Awkward Laundry
• A Weekend Away
• Truly Blessed
• A Time to Trust
• GYRAD, Goofing Off and Having a Good Old Fun Time
• Rockin' Mock Rock

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