A Call to Action: To Live Selflessly This Holiday Season
Artwork by Sarah Havens
This semester has been challenging. It would be an understatement to say anything short of this. Am I the only one who feels this way?
Between exams, labs, seminars, arguments, tears, lost friends, new acquaintances, new opportunities, and the personal growth that occurs over a three month period, I think it is fair to say that each of us, in one way or another, has felt overwhelmed. Fears, anxieties, and insecurities seem to rear their ugly heads at the most inopportune time: right now, at the end of the semester.
I am certain that I am not the only student who is excited for the time off that comes with Thanksgiving, yet feels sick to my stomach to realize that final exams are right around the corner.
The greatest temptation during this time is selfishness. It is too easy to get caught up in our own crap that we involuntarily choose to ignore what is happening around us, both on and off campus.
As winter approaches, the homeless population of Knox county will be left out in the cold while we study in the library with our $4.00 coffees by our sides. Granted, there is nothing wrong with this, but we need to remember who we are: we are among the most privileged students in the state of Ohio. Our friends and families have made it possible for us to study in comfort without fear of being homeless. However, there are those around us who do not have this luxury.
There are students in this state who will go hungry on Thanksgiving unless someone comes to their aid. There will undoubtedly be children who’s parents will struggle to provide them with a memorable Christmas morning. There will be students on this campus who have no place to go once the semester ends. There will be students who cannot afford to pay for gas to travel to the home which they have. Let us not forget these people, who suffer in silence, in fear of ridicule or negative public perception. For it is not the fault of these children, or young adults, that have ended up in their current circumstances.
In the wake of this realization, I think is is paramount that we collectively decide to support one another emotionally, spiritually, financially, etc. Can we not come into agreement that we should be investing in our fellow students? Can we not agree that we should love one another like Christ loved us? Not a single student on this campus deserves to be here. It is by the grace of God alone, and His overflowing love for His children that we have been given the invaluable opportunity to be here, studying His creation. Can we not agree the opportunity to be on this campus is a blessing beyond measure? And what if upon realizing this, we decided that we should invest in one another like this campus has never seen before? What if the future of this campus comes down to our willingness to open our eyes to how privileged we are?
What if each of us gave $1 to someone we know cannot afford to drive home for the holidays? What if we each donated $5 to provide a free community Thanksgiving? What is we each could find the conviction within our souls to give $10 to an organization that provides housing for the homeless this winter?
If each of us put together $1, we would have over $1500. If each of us put together $5, we would have over $7500. Finally, if each of us put together $10, we would have over $15,000… Imagine how much good we could do as a student body if we just stopped to realize how extraordinarily blessed each of us are? Is parting with $10 going to ruin any of our lives? What would it take for us to make this happen? Would God Himself have to step down from heaven and personally direct us? Would He have to send us His son to this planet to die for us, as Christmas so reminds us? Would He have to send His spirit to live within us? Has he not already made Himself known in all three ways to us? Why then do we ignore the opportunities right before our eyes…
This article is a call to action. It is a call the members of this community that we are blessed beyond belief, and we should share just a fraction of this with the world around us.
For goodness sake.. what if we selflessly bought each other a coffee just once? How much would the moral on this campus increase if we had the courage to buy our fellow students just one coffee… What if we had the audacity to buy two coffees: one for a fellow student, and one for someone outside of this campus? How proud would it make our Father to see His people come together to serve the community we are blessed to be members of?
Let us not neglect the wonderful work of the COSMO groups and service leaders that are already doing these exact same activities. Perhaps the solution to our selfishness lies not in giving $1, $5, or $10, but in showing up to just one COSMO group before the semester ends. How about we support the people who are already out in the community doing the work of our Father? What if we each decided to support just one group? How many PB&J sandwiches could we make? 1,000? 2,000? 5,000? How much good can 1,500 people do if we could just come together once?
If you’ve made it this far in the article, I have faith in you. I have faith that you, the reader on the other side of the screen, has both the courage and opportunity to be a leader this holiday season. If you’ve made it this far, you have what it takes to be the kind of person that your Father wants us all to become. With faith, you have everything you need to be the single flame we need to start the fire that burns away the pain that so many people feel as the holidays approach.
If you agree with me, please use the anonymous comment section to tell me so. If nothing more, it shows that someone cares. If you have the courage, let me know who you are. If you want to make real changes happen before 2022 comes to a close, tell me what ideas you have.