Transitions: Thoughts on being new, feeling alone and where God fits in
By Laura Higgins

Three years ago, my parents left me in the lobby of Claudius Roberts Hall. They kissed me goodbye and told me they'd see me in October. I smiled for three days and then cried for a week.

Coming to Tulsa from rural Ohio, I was in complete culture shock. The oil derricks and cows I had originally expected were replaced by skyscrapers and crickets the size of mice.

To make matters worse, no one in my hometown knew where I was, and there seemed to be a shortage of Ohioans on campus. I came to the conclusion one night while I was struggling to calculate aerobics points that I was totally alone.

"To you, O Lord, I life up my soul...Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted" (Ps. 25:1,16 NIV). Each of us has felt that way at one point or another in our lives. For some, you might be returning to a place that you don't feel you are a part of. For others, this is your first time outside a 50-mile radius of your family. The excitement of your new adventure has now worn off and you want to be at home where at least your life is familiar.

Now is the time for all of us to let God move in our lives in ways that He cannot when we are in our secure, familiar places. Take comfort in the fact that there is someone who knows you better than yourself, and loves you more than anyone else could.

He is the only one who is always available to talk, who will never let you down and who is never helpless when you have a problem. God wants us to realize that no matter where we are and no matter what we do, He is still there. God is with you as you try to arrange your room for the eighth time this week. He is there as you cry yourself to sleep.

God is there as you struggle to stay awake during class. God has not left you just because you are no longer in your home church. God is everywhere you are. You only have to open up to Him.

"Why are you downcast my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God" (Ps 42:5-6). God the Father, YOUR Father, is sitting on His throne in heaven, waiting for you. He wants to wrap His loving arms around you, dry your tears and calm your most secret fears the way no one else can. God is simply aching for you to come to Him and tell Him you need His love.

"Peace I leave with you: my peace I give. I do not give as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid" (John 14:27).

This year, my brother began his freshman year at another university. He and I talked before he left about how he might feel and the best way to deal with his emotions. He listened to all of my "big-sister" advice and then announced: "I do not plan to be lonely. How could I ever be lonely when the God of the universe is inside me to talk to whenever I need Him?" I'm so glad he has come to this conclusion early. His transition will be so much easier. And there will be less shock when the phone bill arrives next month.

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