What Really Happened In German Class....

I am periodically reminded that people tend to have bigger problems than I do; this always has the nice little effect of cutting any of my pity fiestas short.

In high school, my German class often served this purpose. I sat at a table with a very interesting group of classmates. One person was pregneant for part of the year, had a great tendency toward drugs and drunkenness, missed a few weeks of school to serve jail time, and managed to break her parole in six different ways. On top of this, she had no emotional bonds to speak of with her family and usually had to live elsewhere. Another person had divorced parents. He once told me that he could down nineteen ounces of vodka and not even get a buzz. He also once advised me, after wincing and grasping at his side, to stay away from masochism, the type involving razors. He said it hurts and is stupid.

Here at college, I've had a few more of these experiences when talking to a man on my floor. He had a great tendency to get into fights at his hometown, usually one or two a week, which he never told his parents about. He often wears black and hasn't told anyone his name in years. When he went to the campus counseling center, he ended up being placed with one of the better college faculty memgbers instead of basic counselors or psychology grad students. He wondered aloud to me where the line is between stupidity and just not wanting to see a counselor.

I've dealt with lots of people for whom professional help would be a good idea, but not absolutely necessary. I've also dealt with a few people who, I knew, absolutely needed help to function. I'm fortunate enough to have wonderful friends and to normally not go any deeper than counseling being a strongly recommended option.

I've always been taught that we will not have to suffer more than we can bear, run faster than we have strength, be tempted above what we can withstand, or be destroyed beyond healing. I believe this, if only because Christ is ready to augment our own strength with his guidance and grace, and He has infinite strength with which to bear us up. We don't always use our full endurance, though, because we humans are very prone to both not doing all we can do and not relying on Christ as we should, in whatever form we know Him. Because we don't use either source to the fullest, people shatter. Hearts break. Lives and souls are destroyed. Light goes out.

Keep that light alive, and let it shine. It's the only way, really. If we lose hope, life is pointless. We weren't sent here to live pointless lives.

~Paul