"Students are stopping long enough to think and notice."
The pace of life has slowed, diaries have been cleared, the life we knew and rushed through has been suspended and it seems we are all learning to be still again. And in this stillness we are starting to notice the presence of God, or for some the lack of. And in noticing the lack of some are noticing the need for the presence of God in their lives and the need for a saviour.
For one student lockdown shifted a tentative church visit every now and again to an encounter with God resulting in a choice to follow Him.
At the age of 8, Lilly* had walked away from faith and church but decided to try church again while she was at uni. She popped along for Sunday gatherings but declined invites for coffees and small groups. During lockdown, Lilly started to get plugged into community and began to show up at regularly at a small group where she was known and loved by her community and in this time encounter God and gave her life to Jesus.
Another student walked away from their faith during their time at uni and over the last couple of months has begun exploring what it means to follow Jesus, marking this moment by emailing their old student worker.
We are hearing story after story of students pausing enough to notice what God is doing in them, to notice where God is speaking to them and to notice where He has been squeezed out of their lives. This time is not simply a moment to pause, this is a moment to recalibrate, to re-set and re-centre. Jesus models this, we regularly see him retreat, he gets away to be with God, to spend time with his father. We see Him retreat with his disciples, they get away together as a team and as a community. They get into spacious and still places. Surround your self in this time with people who inspire you, encourage you. Get off your screens, get into nature, get away from the noise and notifications.
Use this time to notice, notice the still small voice of God we so easily squeeze out in the noise and the hurry.
*Not the students actual name
