I'm getting ready to enter into my second year of college. I'll be a resident assistant (RA) this year, and I'm super excited about it! I've never done this sort of thing before, and I love the idea that part of my job description is actually getting paid to hangout with people. Don't get me wrong, I love hanging with people, but the fact that there's actually a job that requires you to do that is so cool to me. Sure, there are some other duties involved, but I'm just as excited about those as well.

Being on my own and experiencing college has began to help me to mature a lot. My thinking has changed drastically since I've been in college, and it's only been a year. I find myself becoming more involved in things, and also more appreciative. I love being able to just throw myself into things and see what happens.

There's one thing I must caution on though. I need to protect my heart.

It's so easy for me to just pour myself into different relationships, even if a relationship is still new and in the making. I've always had an attitude that I'm going to give as much of myself as possible to people and different responsibilities in my life. That's where I can run into trouble though.

When you give, and give, and give yourself and energy to different responsibilities, it's like a gas tank. At some point, you need to refill. Even when you get down to the red line, you feel like you can still get a few more miles out of it, and I feel like I do that way too often, instead of stopping at a gas station and filling up when I see that the tank is starting to get low. This should be before you even get to the red line.

During my RA training this week, one of the things that has stuck with me was about finding time during a busy week to just relax and rejuvenate for a bit. It's not a bad thing to pour into people and duties, but at some point, you can give too much. You'll feel rundown and like people are trampling on you until you can have some time to yourself to spend with God and do whatever kind of activity that you see as healthy for you, whether that is physically or mentally.

We are human, and it's only by God that we can push past our limitations. Relying on God is crucial when you're a giver. God alone satisfies us, so He needs to be our gas station when we see the tank is running low, but also when we need just a quick snack throughout the day or even just a place where we don't have to drive for a bit.

What I'm saying is we need to rely on Him always. Both when we've given so much of ourselves with little in return, but also just to talk to Him and thank Him and spend time in His Word. Protect your heart by placing it in His hands.

He is the ultimate gas station.

God bless!