By Kelsie Huss
As the semester kicks into high gear, our schedules usually become packed with an abundance of things to do. We run from classes to clubs to work to athletic events, all to wind down by starting our homework at midnight. Sometimes it feels like we’re all stuck in a maze of academia, where every aspect of every day is planned out and there aren’t any opportunities for socialization, let alone free time. But rather than feeling overwhelmed and degraded by these piling tasks, seeing these events as occasions for gratitude will reveal how God is always there to help guide you along your way.
Even when you’re at your busiest, the most important part of your day is the one-on-one time you spend with God. Being receptive to God’s path for you will bring about a day of ultimate success. Taking a daily moment of prayer is “an offering pure of love, whereto God leadeth me” (Poems, p. 13). Time is generally seen as a quantitative limitation, but all of our time can be optimized and full of satisfaction when we trust that each moment is in God’s control. Mary Baker Eddy states that “a Christian Scientist is not fatigued by prayer, by reading the Scriptures or the Christian Science textbook” (Manual, p. 60). Christian Science cannot be a hindrance or a waste of time because God is a source of energy, not fatigue.
Rushing from one checklist item to another may be productive from a material standpoint, but it isn’t always productive from a spiritual standpoint. Sometimes being slow and steady really does help you win the race of spiritual realization; it proves the fact that human limitations such as time or energy have no power or relativity in God’s governance. Mary Baker Eddy states that “rushing around smartly is no proof of accomplishing much,” and this reinforces the idea that human actions have no value relative to God-led actions (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 230).
According to Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, “the conceptions of mortal, erring thought must give way to the ideal of all that is perfect and eternal” (p. 260). Realizing that God is the source of all of our work, and that we alone cannot create or make anything, is undoubtedly the first step in working to be one with God. As the Bible says, “I can of mine own self do nothing” (John 5:30). When working on an academic project, all of “our ideas” are directly given to us from Mind, and all of our work is therefore complete before we start it. Our actions are just the mechanisms behind delivering God’s ideas.
As spiritual ideas, the only limitation we have is the constraint which we place upon our own thoughts and beliefs. Every individual is a spiritual reflection of God, and is reflective of His infinite and inexhaustible energy. In Science and Health, Mary Baker Eddy tells us that “the consciousness of Truth rests us more than hours of repose in unconsciousness” (p. 218). Therefore, looking to Truth as the all-governing power will ultimately be more rejuvenating than mortal concepts like sleep or food.
Turning to God with all of our choices guarantees us a balanced, joyous life. Even when it seems like adding on another task is going to push us past our breaking point, we can trust that, with God’s support, nothing is impossible. By praying, “Shepherd, show me how to go,” we are placing our faith in the ever-present Mind (Hymn 304).
We should constantly ask ourselves: are we really grateful for “the good already received” (SH, p. 3)? There are so many things to be thankful for, like the fact that we have an opportunity to expand our education, a small knit campus community, and a multitude of resources available to us. We have infinite opportunities to gratuitously express God’s goodness, intelligence, strength, perseverance, and love.
No matter what’s on your plate, a spiritual mindset will allow you to succeed in any task. You are, and always will be, a perfect reflection of God, and everything you do will therefore be perfect. A busy schedule is really just a chance to show gratitude for the numerous opportunities you have. After all, “God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31).
