I was literally half awake when I shuffled to my 9 am class this morning.
After class was over, I then proceeded to shuffle to my advising appointment with my Asian studies advisor. Or so I thought I was. After about 15 minutes of walking, I realized I was walking in the opposite direction of my destination and had to make an embarrassing turnaround in the middle of the sidewalk... yikes.
It's safe to say my morning was going juuuust swell. But honestly, I expected just as much after getting only 5 hours of sleep. This past week/weekend was an especially tough one for me. I had so many papers and stories to write and so many assignments that were due. And everything was due AT THE SAME TIME!! And then right after those assignments were turned in, I had to go immediately to work on the next round of assignments/papers. I also encountered a couple of unexpected mishaps that I had to sort through. And THEN, on top of all that, I found myself missing Ohio a little extra. So yea, I was gifted with very little rest and lots of unwanted stress, the most stress I had experienced since entering college.
Needless to say, I was feeling all the weight of that stress this morning as I walked into my advisor's office. Like usual, he greeted me with a "How are you doing today?" As I stared into his smiling face with my lifeless eyes, I was really tempted to respond with my usual "Good." But I decided to be honest because I knew the lack of enthusiasm in my voice would have given me away. So I responded with "I'm really tired."
He kind of chuckled and answered with an "Oh no!" But we didn't really talk about it and moved on to talk about course scheduling. So I thought that was the end of that conversation. But, after about 5 minutes of talking registration, he suddenly stopped and asked me why I was so tired. I think he could tell by my lackluster responses and uncharacteristic lack of enthusiasm that I really wasn't doing so hot. I told him why and our advising appointment suddenly became a counseling session, with him reminding me that above all, I needed to take care of myself, even pulling out his vegetable-filled lunch to exemplify a healthy diet. I was so touched. As registration season approaches, he undoubtedly had lots of things on his plate. He could've just talked to me about things we needed to talk about and then dismissed me so that he could work on the things he needed to work on. But he cared. He cared enough to take the time and show his concern. At the end of our advising/counseling session, he told me that he always enjoyed talking to me, saying I had such a sweet personality. I don't know if it was his intent, but that comment brought so much energy back into me and made my heart so happy. It was as if God was speaking to me through my Asian studies advisor, telling me that no matter what, I am still His precious daughter.
My next stop was a café. I had picked up my coffee and was turning to leave when the server (barista?) stopped me, asking if I wanted a free Danish. Huh? was my first thought. I must have looked confused because she proceeded to explain to me that for the month of October, they were giving out free danishes with each coffee purchase. Of course I wanted a free danish!! So I walked back to my dorm room, coffee in one hand, a coconut danish in the other, and a huge smile plastered on my face. It's funny how a small pastry was able to give me so much joy. Now not only was my heart happy, but my stomach was also happy.
These unexpected li'l joys made me think that God was dropping little care packages for me. He knew I was going through a rough patch and this was His way of expressing his concern, reminding me each step of the way to keep my head up. That's how much our God loves us. He wants us to have joy in life. It doesn't matter if it's sending someone to tell you you're special or sending a free coconut danish your way, God delights in our smiles and WILL make sure we know how valuable we are to Him.
~jo
God's coconut danish care package :)