Cultivating an Attitude of Contentment
By: Beth Potwardowski
Like many who stepped foot on campus as ambitious freshmen, I envisioned a successful four years at Hillsdale before attending medical school and working as a doctor with a happy marriage and family. Four years later I walked across the graduation stage accepting my future for the next year: a gap year while applying to podiatry school, a job filled with changing briefs and attending to nursing home residents as a Nursing Assistant, and a relationship status that remains comically single. Even though I was blessed to pursue many opportunities across campus during college, I still felt a sense of emptiness when Dr. Arnn handed me my diploma. I thought I did everything right by persevering through tough classes, fostering joyful friendships, and investing in the campus community, but I still felt inadequate to the young eighteen year old woman walking into Olds for the first time.
That feeling of failure is natural among many of us here who have high expectations for the future, but I hope to encourage you that plans can change and that does not make you inadequate or a failure. It simply shows that you can grow in new ways. As a timeless phrase states, “We plan. God laughs”. God laughs at our plans because he knows how we need to grow and prepare our hearts for a new season of life, a season that may be far different than the one that we envision for ourselves. Whether you find yourself reading this as an ambitious freshman or a senior stressed about the great beyond after graduation, here are a few words of advice and encouragement for how to rest during seasons of change and cultivate contentment.
The best place to start fostering contentment is through your friendships and relationships. Even at a place filled with exceptional people like Hillsdale, we must accept the truth of our limited time and energy. Search for people who are willing to ask you hard questions and challenge you to be a better person. One of my most formative conversations happened over dinner with a friend when she first asked me, “How is your soul doing?”. It seemed like such a far-fetched question, but In my haste to finish a midterm paper and study for tomorrow’s exam, I had notrealized how my heart was so clouded with stress and frustration in the midst of all my work. So needless to say, my soul was not doing well. But during that dinner we laughed over dumb things we overheard in AJs and funny quotes from professors as we encouraged each other to remember the big picture of our vocation as students persisting through midterms. I encourage all of you to find those friends who truly care about you and your soul, because they will encourage you and challenge you to grow into the person God created you to be.
Another opportunity for finding contentment is through strengthening your faith in Christ. Try to come to church 15 minutes before the service begins to reflect on your week and prepare your heart for worship. This allows you to focus on where your heart has been for the past week and approach God with the humility to ask for forgiveness of your sins. Before every mass during senior year, I found myself reflecting on the phrase in the Our Father prayer “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done” as I sat in the pew at St. Anthony’s. Though we do not always know God’s will for our lives, it took more humility than I expected to trust God’s providence would care for aspects of my life outside of my control and pray for strength and discernment over things within my control. Recognize that there will be seasons of your life with clear paths, but you will struggle and that is OK. What matters most is how you lean on Christ and allow him to work in your heart during those seasons.
College is an exciting time filled with changes and uncertainty as you grow into adulthood and shape your character. In the midst of the plethora of opportunities across campus, do not forget the importance of embracing the mundane in your college career and beyond. There will still be high stakes interviews, milestone birthdays, and class reunions to enjoy, but you will spend far more time replying to emails, changing diapers, and filing taxes, which are less exciting. Recognize that both are necessary and allow you to see the beauty in ordinary things that we are called to pursue in love for others and love for Christ.
