What I Learned From an Intensive Class

Have you ever taken an intensive course? Sometimes known as a module class or by another name perhaps.

Basically, this is a type of course where you go on a class trip over a weekend, or longer; listen to an absurd amount of lectures; and sleep with whatever measly amount of free time you may have… Probably on the floor of a classroom, or somewhere equally as comfortable.

I had to take a class like this (and will have to take a few more) for youth ministry. Charming as I made it sound, I would have to say that this class has been my favorite of all of my college classes so far.

Taking this course taught me so much about my major, about myself, and about God. It was an amazing experience.

1. It taught me about the passion that God gave me for what I am doing. Over the weekend that I went on this class trip, we visited 3 different churches. We sat through sooo many lectures! We were sleeping on the floor of an old church building, and lots and lots of other things that were just not comfortable! Which definitely should not be the point, but these things caused me to realize something… I still was learning from this trip, and I still loved it! I loved learning about youth ministry and discovering ways to better serve for God’s Kingdom. The other crazy thing about this revelation? The more I thought about it, the more I realized that if I were to have this kind of class for any other major I may have pursued I would NOT have survived the weekend.
2. It taught me that the best things come with hard things built in. I don’t know how many times during that weekend I heard the phrase “This is the wrong major for you if [Insert random phrase that I can mysteriously relate to myself, especially when I’m down on myself]”. It definitely caused me to really consider this, and pray about it, while sobbing on the bathroom floor. Going into ministry is really hard, and I know for a fact I haven’t faced near the worst of it, but God taught me through this experience that the backlash is still definitely worth it!
3. It taught me that going through with this may be crazy, but God will be with me every step of the way. That weekend was really hard to get through. Honestly I found out a lot about myself, like writing sermons and presenting them may not be my thing. Which I never said it was anyway, so that’s okay. We had to write a mini sermon and present it to a small group. I overwhelmed myself with that task and only pulled through by the grace of God. Anyway, the big thing is that it might be insane for me to continue to pursue ministry. But God is calling me to do something in this field, and He has se my heart on fire for it. I haven’t figured out exactly what I am supposed to do with that yet, but I know that God will be with me through it all!

The biggest thing is that, no matter what your calling is, no matter what you are striving to do, you are going to hit a point where things get really hard, and you may question whether or not this is really the path for you. You will realize whether or not you love it enough to keep going.

Do what you love and keep going at it. The best things in life will try to knock you down the hardest, so you can prove that you can really shine through it.

-NoctuaKnight