Trust the Process

What is your favorite Bible passage? 

Coming to UVA as an out of state student, I knew only one other person. And while many people would’ve considered that scary, I was excited for the challenge. Having an (almost) blank slate to work with gave me the opportunity to start from scratch and branch out to others as I saw fit. And while COVID somewhat derailed me from meeting people outside Catholic Hoos throughout my first year, I have been able to make completely new friends from the ones I had in high school. Now in the middle of my third year, I can proudly say that I have an incredible group of people around me!

One might ask, “how did you find such a great group of friends?” or “what quality in a person’s character was most important to you when meeting people?” To those questions, I have a long answer that I will go into detail in. But my answer in a single word is trust. Since arriving at UVA in the fall of 2020, I have held complete trust that the Lord has a plan for my time here. And after realizing that, I look for that same character of trust in others.

I’ve been blessed enough to attend a Bible study since the beginning of my first year, and now lead my own Bible study every week. And every single week, I take something new away that I can apply to my life. But every time I read John 15, in a group or by myself, I sit back and admire how crucial it was, and still is, to the building up of my faith. John 15:4-5 reads “Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.”

So what does all that mean in the context of my own life? And what can it mean for you? I struggle the most when my prayer gets dry. It has happened to everyone at some point. In those moments, it can be extremely easy to lose faith and your routine of going to prayer consistently. But I realized quickly that constantly going to God to pray, even when it was dry, was so much better than abandoning Him. We can do nothing without God, nothing without His help. I do my best to remember that daily. Every time I find myself trying too hard to solve a personal situation that seems out of my control, or when I get overly involved in making sure that my future becomes what I want it to be, I take a step back. I reset myself in prayer and surrender myself completely so the Lord can work in my life to help fulfill His plan for me. Just as the above verses state, deserting God yields nothing. Only by remaining faithful in God can a person continue to bear fruit in their life.

Now back to making friends here at UVA. I put a similar form of trust in the people who surround me as I do in my faith in God. I know that trust is something that builds over time, so I’m not saying you have to share everything about your life to someone during your first meeting. But being genuine and truly caring about someone has helped me build trust with others. While in a conversation, I give my full attention to the other person, responding with my honest opinion, not something that I think will make me more popular. On top of that, checking in on friends, while avoiding being a nuisance, is an easy way to build trust. UVA is a competitive school. Sometimes we all forget to take a deep breath and relax. When something goes wrong, even something small, I can let it take over my emotions, sometimes for an extended period of time. However, when a friend checks in on me, it can help me ground myself and refocus on what truly matters most.

Now I know that I can reach out when I need help. I know my friends have my back, just as I have theirs. Just as John 15:13 states “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends," I hope that everyone reading this finds those people in their life that they will give almost anything up to keep. And while I don’t anticipate being in a situation where I will have to surrender myself for a close friend, I can confidently say I would not change the situation I am in currently for the world!
 

Hey guys! My name is Ryan Wood. I’m a third year from Denver, Colorado majoring in mechanical engineering with minors in computer science and data science. For those of you who haven’t gotten to know me all that well, I am a triplet. My brothers Garrett and Andrew go to Notre Dame and Georgia Tech. And for those of you wondering (cough cough third years), I don’t know when they’ll come down here to meet everyone! I guess you’ll just have to keep your eyes peeled for their appearance.