There are a lot of have-to’s in daily life, this is no secret. As a student in the midst of her first J-term, I expected things to get hectic. I didn’t expect there to be at least one or two instances per day in which I think to myself, “How the heck am I going to get all of this stuff done?” Between reading, reading-responses, writing papers, field trips, and actually attending class (I haven’t missed a day yet!), life has gotten pretty chaotic- not to mention my commute (made 10x longer by the snow), work, youth group, volunteering at church, babysitting… oh, and somewhere in there, I sleep and eat (usually).

Lately life has been a series of to-do lists… so many to-do lists, in fact, that I have sub-to-do list’s. I am a list-making person to begin with- it’s the only way I stay (somewhat) organized. But if I’m not careful, list-making starts to negatively affect my mindset.

You see, when every part of my day is written out, only in the hopes of being crossed out, I start to think of each individual task as just a bullet point to get through. It prevents me, in some ways, from seeing the amazing opportunities that I have. Everything becomes a have-to, which stresses me out beyond belief.

So I’ve implemented a new strategy- whenever I start to feel overwhelmed by the have-to’s, I try to shift them to get-to’s. In school, I get to have the opportunity to go beyond my comfort zone, stretching my brain and learning about the world I live in… from a Christian perspective, no less! I get to go to work and earn money to (hopefully) support myself. I get to play a role in the lives of children, bringing them up and helping them learn about Jesus. And, hey, I get to drive myself to work- at least I don’t have to walk!

Do you see what I’m getting at here? Every single day, even through my busy-ness, it is vital for me to purposefully recognize just how blessed I am. It’s not always fun, it’s almost never easy, and there will probably be many more tear-filled moments when I want nothing more than to just curl up on the floor and go to sleep. But a life of movement is what God has called me to, and so a whole lot of coffee and a whole lot of Jesus will just have to continue to suffice… er, get to.