I don’t know about you, but I always felt that the beginning of the second semester was the most demanding part of the college year. First semester you had to settle in and get your bearings. When you discovered what you’d gotten yourself into (other involvements as well as classes) you had to find a way to balance the demands being made of you, with the flow of your time.

Then, just as you were finally getting into your subjects, came the holidays. One after the other they interrupted your carefully crafted, hard-to-maintain flow, with thoughts that were far more pleasant. So you took the time to think about some of the people you missed… and maybe one or two you’d really rather be with. But whether you went home, or not, the holidays were always special!

With all that going on, you made it through the first semester without much damage. But when you came back to school, it was on! Assignments got longer, the work got harder, and suddenly you realized you weren’t getting enough sleep. The only break in sight was Spring Break. And you and I both know that it’s true: You deserve a break!

Spring Break—that heaven-sent oasis of time designed to refresh you in the middle of a desert of academic demands—is just around the corner! How will you get the most out of this treasure that has been dropped in your lap? Just hang up your troubles and relax? Kick up your heels at the beach? Nourish your tired soul?

In many ways, Spring Break has become an elixir to fix whatever ails you! If you’re frazzled to the extreme and need some time to crash… you can do it on Spring Break. If you’ve fallen behind in your schoolwork… you can do it on Spring Break. If the walls are closing in and you need a change of scenery… you can even do that on Spring Break.

The vast majority of collegians treat Spring Break as a reward for all the hard work they have put in since they rang in the New Year. They know they deserve a break—and rightly so! Often, they do the cliché thing, and go to Florida… or California… or somewhere else that is warm and trendy, to hang out and perhaps sow some wild oats.

Now, I’m not against a little celebrating as a Christian. We’re saved—not dead! But when you find yourself “out on the edge” with unsaved college pals, you often find yourself in a bit of an awkward situation as well. You know they are going to keep pushing the envelope of what is morally acceptable to you as a Christian.

So what are you going to do—go along with them, make some lame excuse that will get you off the hook while saving face, or be a wet blanket on their party and tell them why you can go “thus far and no farther?” Deciding what to do can be tough, and Spring Break really isn’t the time to spoil everyone’s fun by witnessing about Jesus… or is it?

I remember one Spring Break in particular when I did the cliché thing and took off for Fort Lauderdale all by myself. My dear Christian parents really thought I had lost it! I was feeling full of the independence that came with leaving home for college, and so I didn’t think it was important to let them know what I was up to. After all, they should have known that I wouldn’t do anything rash—right?

Wrong! I suppose they imagined every tawdry thing I could be doing, every evil thing that could have happened to me “so far away and so all alone!” In reality I was more than OK. But in hindsight, I realize it would have been much easier on them if I had given them a “heads-up” about what I was doing.

Oh, I wanted the sun and the surf like everyone else. But I also wanted to make that Spring Break something special that I would remember without regret for the rest of my life. And so I devised a plan to witness to my friends while I “hung out” and enjoyed the break.

By the time I returned to college, I had shared the Gospel with hundreds of people and had the privilege of leading 14 people—many of whom I had never met before Spring Break—to saving faith in Jesus Christ.

It wasn’t some “planned and canned witnessing campaign” that someone else had whipped up. It was just me, being myself, telling both new and old friends alike what Jesus meant to me. I didn’t have to push it on them; it just came out naturally.

When I returned to college, my body was refreshed and my soul was rejuvenated. It was so much better than coming back exhausted and with a hangover!

As you plan for your Spring Break, remember that you have to go back to class when break is over—and you have to act like you still have some sense about you!

So what will you do on Spring Break? You have so many choices these days! I’ve heard of groups that plan to go to New Orleans (that can be a sunny place!) to help people rebuild their lives. I know of one young man (not really in college yet) who is spending some of his after-school time tutoring a friend who is a little slow. Man, has that changed his outlook on life!

There are many possibilities from which to choose, and each one will meet a potentially different need in your life. If you just want physical rest, then go somewhere peaceful and get it! If you want to deepen your walk with God, then do something that will put you into His Word. If you want to experience joy, personal fulfillment and a heightened sense of self-esteem, find somewhere where you can reach out and make a difference in someone else’s life!

You’ve worked hard. So far, it’s been a good year. And no one can deny that you deserve a break! Make it something special this year. Think ahead about what your plans for Spring Break will produce in your life, and then settle for nothing less that the very best.

Have a great Spring Break. And if you have any exciting, life-changing experiences during your break, be sure and email us and tell us about it. We’d love to hear from you.

Hoping you’ll discover all God has for you in your Christian Destiny,

Dave Weeden
The Collegiate Letter