I had just submitted my high school applications and was anxiously waiting for the results. Although I prayed for God to lead me wherever His will was, I still had a specific school in mind that I secretly hoped for. Most of all, I just wanted to avoid a long commute.
When the big day finally came, I logged onto the website with a knot in my stomach—and I was shocked by what I saw. I had been assigned to XX High School. I kept refreshing the page and even tried logging in again, but the result wouldn’t change. The school was a 40-minute bus ride away. Since I had rarely ever taken the bus, 40 minutes felt unbearably long. After a while, I calmed my uneasy heart, trusting that God must have a reason for sending me there.
Not long after, I heard some great news: two brothers from Zion were already attending that same high school. I was thrilled at the thought that, if we united our hearts, we could carry out many activities together to reveal God’s glory. Before the semester started, I attended the School Year Opening Worship for Students, filling my heart with gratitude, faith, and passion. Once school began, I worked alongside the brothers to practice to do good deeds and set a good example. I truly believed I would keep living as a child of God who set an example both spiritually and physically, but . . .
The heavy workload, late-night self-study sessions, the long commutes, and a severe lack of sleep all hit me at once. Exhausted, I started oversleeping and often found myself rushing to school at the last minute. Gradually, I began missing Student Group gatherings and even neglected my prayers.
Right when both my studies and my life of faith were starting to feel like a burden, I noticed one of the brothers at my school. Even though he was an upperclassman with a busy schedule, he always looked out for me. He arrived at school early every morning to study God’s word, volunteered diligently, and was a model student in every way.
Watching him, I thought to myself, “Isn’t that exactly the kind of life that pleases God?”
Through his example, I reflected deeply on my own actions. I offered prayers of repentance, earnestly asking God for the strength to reclaim my diligence.
Since then, I have been striving to fulfill my responsibilities as a student—studying hard and walking away from games that were clouding my mind. Rather than remaining someone who only receives care, I now look for ways to support my senior brother as well. I truly hope to keep this mindset until the very end. I am so grateful to God for calling me to this school and for helping me grow into a student with upright character and conduct.