Blog

Anxiety has plagued me ever since I immigrated to the US when I was nine. Like an imaginary friend accompanying me wherever I go, anxiety whispers questions of doubt and fear.

I woke up the other day with two papers due, 10 text messages that deserved thorough and urgent responses, three meetings to plan, and an achy neck that desperately needed physical therapy. I knew what I had to do. I walked to the park, put on some worship music, opened my Bible, and prayed.

Similar to many other InterVarsity chapters this past year, InterVarsity at UW–Madison adapted to meet the most critical needs of today’s students—focusing on topics like self-care and mental health during a time that has left many students feeling isolated.

I once had a picture in my mind of several pottery jars. Some had First Nations designs on them, some Celtic, some African, Asian, and many more. I saw a hand pouring water into each pottery jar. It was like Creator (God) was saying to me that he has poured some portions of his gifts of grace into each ethnic group.

God loves to talk with us! And the more we become familiar with conversing with him about the small things in life, the less scary it is to listen to him for the bigger things.

NFL running back, teaching pastor, partner at a prestigious management consulting company—InterVarsity alumnus Jason Wright has quite the resume. And in the summer of 2020, he added a new accomplishment: becoming the NFL’s first Black team president.

When the Lord calls something “holy,” he’s saying it’s set aside, unique, not to be taken for granted. So a Sabbath can be defined as an intentional choice to stop working and focus on what’s holy.

Ultimately, prayer is about more than just feeling good and having God solve our problems. As we rediscover the wonder and true nature of prayer, may it deepen our walk with Jesus!

What if we had more childlike wonder in our lives? How would our interactions with God be different? How would we interact with family and professors and classmates differently? What would we talk and dream about?

Whether in worship leading, in discipleship, or as chapter president, Elisha was willing to invest his skills to further ministry on campus.