Guest Writer Monday: Samantha!

If I could do college all over again, I think I might like to take photography classes and interior design classes. I would also like to study the Hebrew and Greek languages. Maybe not for a grade, but I think it would aid me in the study of the Word!

Well, Sam does study Greek...and for a grade. (You rock, girl.) You'll love what she is sharing today...hope it kicks off your week with a fresh word.

Xerophilous

This is my fourth semester of Ancient Greek, and it has been one of the hardest yet most rewarding journeys in college so far. I have spent countless hours flipping through my lexicon and trying to stay motivated to complete my homework. However, whenever I succeed at translating something, I have the most wonderful sense of accomplishment.

I also have one of the most wonderful teachers. If you have seen the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding, you will have seen a peek at my teacher. He is very similar to Tullah’s father in that he enjoys showing how common (or uncommon) English words are rooted in the Greek.

For each class, a student is assigned a “secret word,” which is a word in English that comes from Greek words. The goal is for the student to look up the etymology and then present it to the class, letting them guess what the English word is from their understanding of the Greek word(s). A couple of weeks ago, my word was “xerophilous”; it comes from the noun meaning “arid, dry” and the verb meaning “to love,” so it is an adjective describing something that loves or thrives in dry conditions (specifically referring to plants such as cacti).

As we discussed plants growing in the desert, I started to think beyond the plant world. Off and on this year, I have felt that I myself have hit one of those “dry” spots spiritually. It’s not necessarily that I doubt God or I have trouble seeing Him. It’s not that I am tired of serving Him or that I am burned out on ministry. It just seems like things are static. I am not quite as emotionally passionate as I was last fall, and I am not thriving in the same manner I had been. I read the Word and I know that it is good – I trust that I am benefitting from it – but the effects are harder to see.

However, I don’t want this to hinder my growth. I have talked to many young women about this stage of the Christian journey, and the majority seem to be able to relate. It’s not that things are going badly – they are simply “blah.” We wonder why we don’t feel the passion and the drive that we once did, but often it is because we are relating our relationship with God to our emotions. Since Jeremiah 17:9 tells us, “The heart is deceitful above all things,” we cannot base things on the way we feel.

I trust that the Word is affecting me (even when I don’t feel it) the way I trust working out is helping me. I don’t always feel sore after running, but I know that I did something and my muscles and endurance are developing. I don’t always feel immediate results from reading Scripture or in my daily time with the Lord, but we are promised in Isaiah 55 that His Word does not return void.

Therefore, during the dry spells in your walk with the Lord, I encourage you to learn to embrace the concept of a xerophile and continue seek after Him, thriving even if the feeling isn’t there.