The Narrow Road

I woke up fifteen minutes before my first class of the day started and didn’t even bother to get out of bed just yet. It takes 40 minutes to get to campus so why rush if I’m already late. I scrolled through social media to see pictures of coffee drinking, of bible reading, and of course, bible reading while drinking coffee. I’m behind on a project for one of my classes and have another due today at 11 AM that I haven’t even started. I’m confused at the instructions and none of my classmates will help me. I have a test at 2 PM on who-knows-what. My notebook that needs to be graded has gone missing, and I’m pretty sure I left it somewhere on campus.

I decided to skip my morning class since I was already quite late and use that time to try and get my project done. As I sat down with my laptop I began to feel the inside of my chest tremble like the aftershock of an earthquake. It’s not very often that I feel overwhelmed or stressed, but when I do it’s almost unshakeable. I needed to spend time alone with Jesus.
With my eyes closed, I sat there in front of my mess of papers and just talked with Him.

“Jesus, I give this to you. Help me to be open-handed. Help me to trust you and your plan. Change my mind and my heart to help me see how you see. I don’t want to go to school dreading the day. I know this is just part of the plan on the way to what you have for me. Help me to find joy in the small things. Give me a clear mind. Help me to rest in you. Jesus, it’s yours.”

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

Matthew 7:13-14

While this verse speaks of life and salvation, it made me think of how pretending I’m immune to stress and life is like walking on the broad road. Everyone pretends to have it all together and that life is peachy when they’re actually falling apart the moment they get alone. It’s all too easy to get caught up in the to-do’s, especially when it feels like there just aren’t enough hours in the day to do them all and they drag on. It’s easier to distract myself when I feel the weight on my shoulders, or to ignore it altogether. In times like these, I’m going to choose to rest in Jesus and give it all to Him.