First Day

Today was great. I was expecting pure chaos, and instead was blessed with everything running as smoothly as possible, starting with my commute. SDSU is 50 miles from home, and the route is notoriously congested during commute hours. To allow for that, and time to find a parking place on a campus chronically short on parking capacity, I left at 6:45 for my 9:30 class. Words rarely fail me, but the only thing I could say as I pulled into a parking spot at 8:00 am was, "Thank you Lord!"

I immediately walked over to the main part of campus and started checking to-do's off my list, getting a jump start on what I'd anticipated would be an after class checklist. By 8:30 I was comfortably seated in the shade outside the bookstore, watching the campus mall get more and more crowded with students heading here and there. I wasn't brave enough to find out how long the line was at Starbucks. :)

By 11:30, I was finished for the day, having sailed through the first session of two of my four classes. Having expected to compete for a seat due to "crashers" (students who had not registered for particular classes, but hoping to add them) I was happy to find there were plenty of seats to go around. So far the work load seems manageable, and I was shocked to discover there are no papers expected in these two classes, only tests. Really?!? I think the last class I took without a paper or major project required was a 100-level math class.

So, tonight I have my other two classes. Carpooling looks like it's going to work out great, so that's lined up for today... everything seems to be going great.

I had been overly anxious about the beginning of things, as I just don't deal well with not knowing what to expect. I guess in the big picture, it's best to plan for the worst and be pleasantly surprised than to expect the best and miss a first class over not getting a parking place. In that regard, I don't regret the planning I did, I just wish I could have been a lot less anxious.

As I write, I'm reminded of Philippians 4:6-7...
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

I studied this verse in the Grace Bible study just a few weeks ago, and yet I didn't do a good job of following it's instruction. Thankfully, God watches over us constantly and I feel blessed that my day went so well despite my anxiety.